A Bad Case of Hopeless
by Mel-Girl
Summary: HIATUS. Bakura always liked Mariku Ishtar but when he discovers his new roommate to be Mariku's bad tempered twin Malik, it looks like things just won't work in Bakura's favour. Or maybe Malik's better than he initially thought? YBM/YBYM/YMR/MR. R
1. The Thrill Seeker

**Hey, I got randomly inspired by Toradora (that anime is my current addiction, along with YuGiOh) and I loved the Taiga-Ryuuji dynamic and I felt like doing a take on it. Thus this fic bopped up. XD I'll be working on it alongside my other fic 'Bloody Brilliant'. In that fic, we're mostly hearing Marik's perspective but here, it's more Bakura-centric. XD It's another AU and this time, the gang are at a boarding school.**

**For fic purposes, because both Marik and his yami appear, I'll be referring to the hikari Marik as Malik and his yami will be Mariku. He was going to be Marik, but I felt that Malik and Mariku are more different to each other. And anyway, a little more information about the fic. The main shippings are Thiefshipping, Psychoshipping, Angstshipping and Deathshipping. There'll be other shippings too but you'll have to pay attention to the fic to see what they are! X3**

**Summary: Bakura is bored and frustrated. To him, Mariku is totally exciting and interesting. Due to this, he's developed a crush on the crazy student. Mariku's twin Malik has a bad temper and to him, Ryou is a source of light for him. And due to this, he's developed a crush on him. But fate just has to be a bitch and stick Bakura and Malik in the same dormitory. With the two crushing on each other's twin, they work out a deal to match each other up with their desired person. But Bakura has enough logic to know that things can and will go wrong.**

**Read on! X3**

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Chapter One: The Thrill Seeker

**Bakura's POV**

_There are things in this world that we cannot see. Once you lay your eyes on it, you would yearn for it. But that's why it's been hidden so not just anyone can have it. At some point, someone will find it. That person who is supposed to find it will be able to find it._

_That is one of the many mysteries of this world._

That was something I'd been taught when I was young and it was the words I'd chosen to believe in. Your parents always teach you random crap when you're little like stupid proverbs. The classic 'Believe in yourself' stuff? Yeah, heard it all before.

My twin brother Ryou was someone who practically lived off those sayings. I found myself more tempted to the dark side of things. Aspects of life that seemed not so optimistic drew in my curiosity. Drama and rebelling seemed far more thrilling. My dad and I used to watch crime dramas all the time, despite how kids my age back then weren't supposed to be watching things like that.

Mother never seemed to get it right with me. Her words always worked on Ryou and my younger sister Amane. They were innocent and naive like that. The one time her words struck a spark in my mind were those very words. She managed to lure me in with words like 'yearn', 'hidden' and 'mysteries'. I had no idea what she was talking about then but that's exactly why I never let myself forget those words.

One day I was going to find out the meaning of those words.

And I will.

No doubt about it.

---

"Here we are... Domino Boarding School!" Ryou announced as we followed the numerous students off the train and I finally understood why our father bought us suitcases with wheels. They're far easier to travel around with.

"We're at the station; we still have to get the bus out there, dope!" I pointed out with a sigh. Yeah, he said Domino Boarding School. Our mother and sister died in a car crash and our father didn't have the time really take care of us properly. So Ryou became dependant on me and I forced myself to learn how to do home economical crap like get a job and learn to cook and stuff. The job wasn't very exciting though; all I could score was some paper-run gig.

In any case, that lifestyle bored me to death. I was almost relieved when my father told us that we were being sent to boarding school. Didn't exciting things always happen in a boarding school setting? Ya know, like Harry Potter. And I remember reading some mystery novels set in boarding schools. I suppose you could say I was hungry for a mystery or a thrill. Life was boring as it was and I wanted to discover things and mess with it.

So the two of us had been sent to boarding school. It's a 'Guys Only' school. We've already had a year there and we were always in different classes and dormitory rooms. Dormitory rooms were always two people per room and so there were tons and tons of rooms in the dormitory blocks. Last semester, I was with a guy named Yami Muto who was also a twin. He was serious and recommended some good books for me to read.

It was odd. Before mom died, I was more of a couch potato who sat around and watched the television all the time and then at boarding school, there really was nothing better to do than read books. After all, we can't watch TV here or go on the computers in our spare time. So I decided, what the hey, I watch crime dramas and horror films and stuff like that so I may as well read book versions of that kind of thing.

In any case, Bakura and Ryou are one of the three sets of twins at our school. We're the Touzoku twins, apparently. Then there are the Muto twins, Yami and Yugi. Yugi's kind of like Ryou. Innocent, rather shy but big on the friends thing. I've seen him and Ryou hang out from time to time. And Yami, well, I already explained him, didn't I?

Ryou made friends at the school but I chose not to. Nobody excited me. Well, except for one person but I suppose like me, he had this unapproachable thing going on. There was not a single opportunity I had in my first year at this damn boarding school in which I could've properly approached him. But believe me, I wanted to.

"Ryooooooouuuuuu!!" a familiar voice yelled. Oh crap, speak of the devil. It's one of the twins. And not a Muto twin. I said there were three sets of twins. Funny how they're all in my grade. In any case, there were the Ishtar twins. And this one was the one person that truly excited me. Mariku Ishtar. I've never talked to him but he's friends with my brother.

It was something I could never really live down. Mariku was... interesting. I could think of so many terms to describe the guy. Wild, rebellious, crazy, thrill-seeking... Some would say that he spawned from the devil. I say he's the devil himself. Everyone at Domino Boarding School knew his name and heard of the antics he'd gotten up to.

I'm surprised he hadn't been suspended but... every prank he did, I wanted to be with him. I wanted to help pull those pranks. But my stupid personality got in the way. There are many different ways to describe how I felt about Mariku. I thought the guy was brilliant, I loved the sense of danger about him and I wanted to be like that. I'm sure that when I first saw him, the words that went through my head were: Holy shit, I'm in love.

"Bakura? You're spacing out..." Ryou mumbled, nudging my arm. I snapped back to reality and Mariku was looking at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Fuck, I never knew he had such brilliant eyes... Gah, I'm not going to act all stupid now. We're at the railway station for Domino City and all the students who came in from elsewhere are now heading towards the special buses that take us to Domino Boarding School.

"No, I'm not," I snapped, averting my eyes away from Mariku to the ground. Damn it, I know Mariku likes thrills just as much as I do. He needs to see that side of me.

"I'd say you did! Don't worry; people tend to draw mind blanks around me." The teenager outstretched his arm towards mine and shook my hand vigorously. "I'm Mariku and I presume you're Bakura. You've probably seen me approach your brother here from time to time."

"Uh... yeah... hi," I responded nervously. Goddamn it, I swear I can be more interesting than that!

"Mariku! I want to get on the damn bus already!" another voice yelled. One that I didn't quite recognise. Mostly because it was a voice I never got to hear. Like I said, Mariku was one half of a set of twins. The other half was Malik Ishtar. "We could've gotten decent seats by now!"

Mariku turned and shot a grin in the direction of his bus. "I'll be with ya in a second!" He looked back at us and said that his impatient brother will act up again if he didn't go now. Ryou nodded sympathetically. As Mariku dashed off, he glanced back and added, "See ya round, Touzoku bitches!"

Touzoku... bitches? That's... different.

In any case, like I said: there are three sets of twins at this school. I'd say that Ryou and I were the most identical but then again, the Ishtar twins' sense of style differed from each other's. None of the twins really had the same personalities. For example, there are the Muto twins.

Yami Muto is a lot more confident yet doesn't socialise all that much, gets high grades, I think he's on the student council along with Ryou – my twin brother is joining it this year but Yami was on the council in his first year too. Yugi likes card games, is pretty shy but much friendlier; he's open to everyone and treats everyone kindly. Both of them are decent and I think Yami would have more friends if he took his attention off his duties more often.

They both have crazy tri-colour hair; blonde bangs and the rest was a weird spikey mix of blacks and reds. Yami's had more blonde streaks though. Yugi's eyes are wider and cuter while Yami had that whole bishounen face thing going on as someone once put it. Yami is also the taller of the two. Their heights were enough to tell them apparently, really.

Ryou and I, yeah, I'd say we're different. Ryou's more like Yugi only shyer around others and could really do with more confidence. He needs to stand up for himself more though what I hear, because Mariku's befriended him, nobody wants to bother Ryou now in fear of Mariku. Ah Mariku, I think you're a better brother to him than me.

After all, Mariku willingly watches out for Ryou from what I hear. I've been forced to keep an eye on him. I'm expected to be the big brother and stuff and it's really restricting. If it were up to me, I'd rather cause chaos or fling myself into a crime drama scenario.

I think that's one big difference between Ryou and I. He's content with the way things are. I'm not.

People who don't know us well can't see many differences between us. We're the same height; we both have long white hair, brown eyes... If this weren't Domino Boarding School where there's a stupid uniform, they'd notice that our style is pretty different. Ryou likes his conservative, boring clothing and I prefer black jackets, skinny jeans with some interesting t-shirt. Now that I think about it, I wish I were more exciting with my choices too but I can't afford that. Cash sucks.

But I guess there are four ways you can tell us apart if you observe carefully. One, my hair is almost more spiked up than Ryou's. Two, our facial expressions; Ryou looks smiley and I tend to glare or smirk a lot. Three, the way we talk; Ryou's voice is gentler than mine and a bit higher too. Four, our actions. I tend to charge about or be completely casual, walking around dully with hands in pockets and Ryou... eh, he does neither of those things.

We finally got to the buses and Ryou and I could barely squeeze onto the first bus leaving for our school. We had to have seats up the front and I could see the Ishtar twins sitting at the very back of the bus. I was on an aisle seat so I decided that for the bus ride, I had nothing better to do than observe my surroundings.

God, this bus is crazy. I suppose that's what we get for being a rowdy all-boys school. Hn, most of the boys here seem to be first-years. Freshmen annoy me. They start out crazy and excited, then become nervous and then once they're settled, they think they know the place. Yeah, my year group was like that and for the most part, it ticked me off. The only person who pulled off the rebellious student act correctly was Mariku Ishtar.

That leads me to the Ishtar twins. Both seemed like interesting people but the only one I would hear about regularly was Mariku Ishtar. I wasn't in any of their classes last year so the most I know is what I've heard or seen. Mariku and Malik are both quite the duo. They seemed to both get in trouble but for very different reasons. Malik apparently has quite the temper and has been known to have completely trashed classrooms to satisfy his frustration and he tended to distance himself from everyone else due to his nature.

Mariku... he just got into trouble because he found it fun to do that. He didn't seem to get so stressed out and was happy to express whatever opinion he had on things. He wasn't afraid of being an ass. I suppose that was what made him interesting to me. I liked the fact he's a jerk and fully intends to be. Though I wonder if Malik's the way he is because he bears the grunt of Mariku's actions. Perhaps I'll find out more about the two this year.

It's easy to tell them apart. While they both have brilliant lavender eyes, tanned skin and flaxen blonde hair, Malik didn't have his hair spike up insanely the way his brother did. Mariku always looks like he should belong in an asylum.

Their personalities were so distinctly defined. At the back of the bus there, Mariku's laughing rowdily at something and bragging about what sort of tricks he's thinking of doing this year. He had his gang with him, all going along with Mariku's words. He commanded attention... He's such a bloody awesome psycho, I swear he is. I wanted to be in amongst those friends and have the power to be insane like him.

Malik, on the other hand, was sitting with arms crossed and his face in a scowl. His eyes averted and noticed me staring in his direction. He raised an eyebrow and then glowered. I quickly turned around and paid attention to Ryou at last. I don't know how the heck I'll ever approach Mariku properly but I sure don't want to get in a crossfire with Malik.

"When we get to school, I think the first thing we do is go to the assembly and then we go to the board that shows what our form class and dormitory room number we each got," Ryou told me, noticing that I was paying attention to him at last.

"I know they always split up twins for those dormitory and form class things but we did get Gym and English together so we'll probably have a class or two again with each other," I replied, mulling over my last year's classes. Gah, I was stuck with mostly boring people there. A Mariku in my class would make things so much more interesting. Heck, even a Malik to trash the classroom would've made things even a little more exciting.

Last year, I could never look forward to anything. Here's hoping this year will be different.

---

We arrived at school. It's the same old-fashioned school that it was last year. Hopefully they'll have fixed the air conditioning and brought in new books to their library because I'd read every damn horror genre novel they had. Then we had our assembly. It was dull and Ryou had to drag me to the front row where I couldn't get away with sneaking glances to see what Mariku was doing. Though I did grin when I heard some teacher saying, "Ishtar! Knock it off!" in a low but irritated voice. Oh teachers, your favourite devilish troublemaker is back.

Then we went to the giant boards to check our form class and dormitory rooms. What they did was list the classes and beside each name was a room number. I did a quick search and found my name listed as being in class 2KD. Oh yeah, form classes had the year group plus two letters which are the teacher's initials. I have Kawamura Daisuke as my sensei? Oh bloody hell, he's the same damn boring teacher I had last year!

Ryou seems to have the same form teacher too. Hn, he's in 2TY and his room number is 234. Speaking of which, my room number is 255. Right, now I can take my bags and head to my room. The first day is always an assembly followed by everyone settling into their dormitory rooms. Then it's lunchtime and then we go to our form classes and get our timetables and find out if we got the subjects we wanted, etcetera.

---

Huh, I'm in my dormitory room and it appears to be that my roommate hasn't arrived yet. Did I mention that each room could only fit two people? In any case, I got stuck with a stupid room that doesn't get much light coming in through the windows. Uneven floorboards, old wooden desks, uncomfortable mattresses with ugly sheets... Yeah, I'm back at Domino Boarding School for sure.

Suppose I should go and check on my brother, see who he's rooming with. Maybe I should've checked the list to see who my roommate was supposed to be. So I got out into the hallway and walked along it, scanning the doors for my brother's room. Many students were going in the opposite direction, coming towards me. They're probably all finding their rooms. One of them has to be my roommate.

I felt a thud against me suddenly. Someone shorter has walked into me? I could hear some whispers immediately. "Touzoku's got it real bad now!" Huh? What? I finally looked down and saw a heap of flaxen blonde hair, staring at the ground. The student looked up and I saw an Egyptian boy raise his fist. Like Mariku, this kid had gold wrist cuffs and other items of jewellery. There is only one other student in this school that would wear their uniform and yet wear those.

Malik Ishtar.

Shit, I'd just walked into the angry twin. Oh fuck, yeah, I've got it bad now, haven't I? The next thing I knew, a punch connected with the bottom of my chin and I was sent to the ground. Malik then began to continue his way down the hallway and all the other students backed away, not wishing to meet the same fate as me.

...This guy better not be my roommate.

I got up and glared. Nobody gets away with beating me around. I suppose me and Malik will just have to start out on bad terms. "Oi, Malik! Don't think you can just punch me and walk off like that!" I shouted after him. Perhaps this would be a mistake. A lot of the students around me seemed to think so.

Malik stopped and looked back at me. "Do you want to debate over the matter?" I bit my lip, unsure what a wise reply would be. We both waited. Eventually, he grew impatient and continued his way down the hallway. "Idiot!"

Ugh, what a repulsive guy. Mariku is clearly my favourite of the Ishtar twins, for sure. I managed to get up and I ignored the looks of sympathy others were shooting me. I stormed into room 234 once I found it. Ryou looked up and asked what happened. Oh yeah, I got my pissed off expression on. But that immediately changed when I saw who was sprawled out on the bed beside the window.

Oh god, Ryou! You bitch. How could you get the same room as Mariku Ishtar? Mariku sat up and smirked at me. "Hey! It's the other Touzoku! Try to tolerate your roommate, okay?" Wait, what? Now why would he be saying that? Shit, no! It can't be!

I immediately dashed out of their room, forgetting why I initially went to Ryou's room anyway. Oh freaking hell, this must be a sick twist of fate. I think I understand Mariku's words. Entering the room was a familiar teenager tossing the contents of his luggage around the place. In reaction to my entrance, he threw a book at my face. Luckily it was only a notebook so it didn't hurt.

"Bloody hell! Do you beat up everyone or something?" I yelled out in frustration. Yes. My roommate is Malik Ishtar. It just had to work out that way, didn't it? And because dormitory roommates are always in the same form class and tend to share a good deal of classes... That means I'm in for a screwy year. Fuck.

"No! What would you know anyway? Jumping to conclusions like that when you've only met me for the first time! Who are you anyway?" the Egyptian snapped at me. I sighed. I suppose he doesn't know that everyone knows who he is. Mostly known as being Mariku's violent brother and also for being snappy with teachers and trashing classrooms. Yeah. One's a thrill seeking jerk while this one is simply just a jerk.

I sighed. "I'm Bakura Touzoku and I already know that you're Malik Ishtar and that you have constant PMS or something. Seriously, what is your deal anyway? Bumping into you was an accident and you think a good way to react is to punch them in the face?"

Malik nodded at me. "Sometimes a person has to assert themselves and make it clear that you don't want to get on their bad side. PMS, huh? That's a new one."

"Shock. With your pretty blonde hair and your behaviour, you look like a pissy teenage girl," I grumbled. "A flat one at that too."

The Egyptian looked ready to knock me dead with that comment but he fell back onto his mattress too with a groan. "Why did I end up with the asshole Touzoku?"

With a roll of my eyes, I replied, "Why did I end up with the bitchy Ishtar?"

"Touzoku-kun's not nearly as irritating as you." I raised an eyebrow at this? Touzoku-kun? Is that how he chooses to refer to my brother? Well, that's different. I finally acknowledged the mess Malik made of the room and began to pick things up. "Hn? Why are you cleaning up?"

"Because I don't want to come into the room and see your damned boxers and shirts scattered all over the floor?"

"...Stupid."

"Yeah, that word fits you."

"...Your bag was open and I saw your diary."

"Oh yeah?" I came to a halt when I finally realised what he just said. "Shit, what the fuck is wrong with you? Going through my stuff! You better not have read it!"

It was Malik's turn to roll his eyes. He sat up and smirked at me. "It was wide open, how could I have not read it? You're a perverted freak, aren't you? Reading it was hilarious. All these stupid reviews of books. Are you a nerd?"

I shook my head. "Reading books doesn't automatically make someone a nerd."

"No, you're more of an otaku, I guess. Into the fads of lame horror genre and random dramas but you have the brain of a stupid mutt," Malik sighed, crossing his arms once more. He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. Fuck, this Ishtar knows how to be real irritating. Yeah, my grades are pretty sucky because I'm not interested in paying attention to class but I hate it when people pick at me about it. The sad thing is that Malik doesn't even know my grades and yet he makes conclusions like that.

"Where's my diary now?"

"Oh, I returned it the bag in a rush when I read a paragraph about you crushing on my brother. Don't worry, your diary's safe now."

My jaw dropped. Shit, why the hell did I write that in my diary? I rushed to my suitcase and found my diary lying on top of my clothes. Opening it up, indeed, I did write an entire page on him. I must have been feeling freaking hormonal that day. If I remembered that this page was still in the diary, I'd have torn it out or left the diary at home and used a new one for the school year.

"You're not to tell anyone about what you read, okay? Or I'll tell everyone that..." I tried to think. Any old rumour will do. "...I'll tell everyone you like my brother Ryou!" There was a silence in the room. Malik stared at me. The look was indescribable. He froze, stuck on what to say. I slapped my forehead. "You have got to be kidding me..."

"W-Wait!" Malik raised a hand and tried to hide the dark pink blush that was forming on his cheeks. "Where did you hear that from?"

I shrugged. "I think you just gave yourself away, stupid."

"...Fuck!" The Egyptian got up from his bed and flipped my bag so that the contents of my luggage became a mountainous pile on the floor. I glared at him but before I could scold him, he continued to speak. "I can't believe I did that! Well, I suppose we both screwed each other over now."

"From my perspective, you're the one victimising you. First you punch me, second, you chuck a book at my face, third, you read my diary and fourth, you just emptied all my stuff onto the floor and making even more of a mess!" I sighed, going back to picking things up. He didn't reply.

Fifteen minutes later, we still weren't speaking to one another. I finished tidying up my stuff and making use of a set of drawers and a small wardrobe to be the storage space for my things. Then I started to tidy up Malik's things and once I sussed through his things, I finally spoke, mostly to tell him how I've organised the drawers.

"...You actually bothered to tidy up my stuff?" Malik asked in disbelief. I decided to plonk down on the bed next to him but I didn't dare look him in the eye. We weren't on good terms but at least he wasn't trying to beat me up or try to be a total jerk towards me. "...Geez, is that how it's going to be?"

"What?"

"I'll mess up the room and you'll be left to tidy it up."

"Unfortunately, that will probably be the case."

"...Psh, you're turning yourself into my slave if you let that keep up."

"I know. Sadly, I probably have nothing better to do."

Malik smirked at this and finally looked me in the eye. He had some kind of evil look going on with that grin and the glint in his eyes. If only it was Mariku here, giving me that look. That guy would be entertaining to be around with while this bratty twin of his is disagreeable. "I guess you don't mind being my slave, then?"

My jaw could've dropped right through the floorboards. "Are you kidding me? I don't serve anyone."

"All you have to do is be my slave and help me... with... you know..." He suddenly turned shy, his eyes averting to the ground and his cheeks going pink. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. His eyes lit up when he continued to speak. "In return, I'll help you out with Mariku. I won't tell the bastard that another weirdo is after him."

I groaned. "Oh, go to hell. I don't like bargaining or anything like that."

"Like you got anywhere doing things yourself as a first year!" Ugh, I don't need to hear that from a guy like him.

"Ryou hardly ever talks to me about you. If he talks about an Ishtar twin, it's always Mariku."

Malik stuck his tongue out at me. "He probably gets amused at how horny you get at the mention of Mariku's name!"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, don't tell me that you don't know!"

Ugh. I just know that this school year will be spent bickering all the time. The bell rang, indicating lunchtime. Malik stood up and prepared to leave when he slipped over and fell on his face. Don't tell me that this guy is klutzy as hell.

I approached him and grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. "You're pretty hopeless, aren't you?" I expected the blonde Egyptian to turn around and punch me or at least snatch his arm back out of my grasp but he didn't. "Oi, this is why we can't have the room too messy."

"Are you used to picking around after other people?"

I thought about it then shrugged my shoulders once more, taking my arm away from his. "Ryou's kind of klutzy too so I guess."

"Only unlike me, he looks cute when he trips up, doesn't he?" Malik's voice was different when he said that. He sounded calmer, at the least. I guess at the mention of Ryou, his softer side can be brought out. Perhaps a guy like Ryou would be good for him. Malik could do with someone calm and friendly. Someone he just can't get irritated with.

The dormitory rooms should've been different. I should've been with Mariku and Ryou should've been with Malik. That's how it was supposed to be.

"...I'll help you." What? Did I just say that? Eh, I did. Now I ought to prepare myself for a world of hell. Or something along those lines.

To my surprise, Malik swivelled around with a more pleasant expression. Crap... his eyes seem a little more innocent. If he used this look more often, I'd probably have more appreciation for the guy. He actually looks... cute with that expression. What the fuck am I thinking?

"Seriously? I thought I'd have to pummel you until you say yes but I guess we can skip that step!" he exclaimed. Forget it, just forget it. He's not cute at all! Malik reached a hand towards mine. "Let's shake on it. Confirm the deal."

I sighed and took his hand. Unlike Mariku, Malik's way of shaking hands was surprisingly more gentle. Maybe underneath that temper, that scowl and his repulsive words... maybe there's a half-decent person.

In any case, I think this school is going to get more interesting. This partnership could either throw me off the edge or be a great thrill. Probably both. Malik may not be like Mariku, but he's a different kind of interesting, I'll give him that.

This damned plan better work out in the end!

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**And that's the first chapter. I always love sticking Bakura and Malik as partners in crime. Especially since in the anime, they were actually partners in crime and all. ;D And yeah, I made Bakura less of a psycho cuz I wanted him to look up to Mariku for fic purposes. But he's still going to be crazy in his own way. Like I said in the summary, he's an aspiring psycho. He wants to be a psycho. XDDD**

**So yeah, I'll probably take turns between updating this and 'Bloody Brilliant'. And I seem to like sticking Bakura and Ryou as twin brothers. And the other boys in the YuGiOh gang will appear, promise. :3**

**Anyway, if you enjoyed, a review would be nice. *shot***

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


	2. Make a Wish

**Lol, only one review so far. But what the heck, I'll continue to update regardless because I enjoy writing this fic so what the hey! And now that this chapter is out, I'll get working on an update for 'Bloody Brilliant' too. Eh, I haven't got much else to say except that I seem to write fairly long chapters. Hn. :x**

**Read on! 8D**

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Chapter Two: Make a Wish

**Bakura's POV**

Lunchtime seemed kinda weird. I thought we'd just get into the plan right away so when we went to the cafeteria and got tables, I thought Malik would let me follow him over to Mariku's table. I learned quickly that this wouldn't be the case.

Mariku was yelling out his brother's name and waving him over. I felt annoyed when he didn't notice me standing beside his twin. Malik began to walk over when he came to a halt. He glared at me and told me not to follow unless I can bring Ryou with me.

But Ryou had already found his friends from last year and was already seated amongst them. Crap, I gotcha. Malik's not going to help me with Mariku until I help him with Ryou. What an irritating deal. But I suppose it'll just have to be that way. Fine, Malik. I catch your drift. Even if you're pacing over to Mariku and shooting a backwards glance at me that made me want to throttle the guy. Yeah I'm sure he knows I've worked it out. I've worked it out all right.

I couldn't help but let out a laugh when Malik tripped over on his way to Mariku's table. Luckily he didn't hear me as I made sure to cover it up as best as I can. "Oh Ra, Malik! Still as hopeless as ever!" Mariku yelled, chuckling at his clumsy twin brother. The rest of his friends at his table joined in the laughter. I guess Malik's a definite klutz, huh?

Malik got onto his knees and sighed. I examined more carefully and realised that he spilled all his food on the floor. And the idiot is moping over it instead of cleaning it up. Dumbarse. I walked and held my food tray towards him. He looked up at me and glared, hissing at me and asking what the hell did I think I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing either.

I suppose Malik reminded me of when Ryou had even less of a backbone. He just wasn't careful at all because he had it in his head that the world was a happy, safe place. I wish that outlook didn't get tainted. But I know that Ryou has improved since then. I wonder if Malik had anyone there for him.

Here I am, making conclusions about the guy. But I suppose it was logical to determine the reasons why Malik is a grouchy bitch, right?

I think many eyes were on me as I handed Malik my tray and let him proceed onwards to Mariku's table. Though maybe Mariku will think good of me for doing so? That... could be a good thing. Actually, I doubt Mariku gives a shit about good deeds. I'll need to rethink my tactics.

As I cleaned up the mess Malik left on the floor, Ryou approached me to see if I was alright. "Why are you cleaning? Staff could sort that out. Though if it's Malik-kun's mess, he should be helping you," he pointed out. Oh, if only Malik could've heard that. He would be not so useless.

"Fucking hell, Bakura! Are you trying to poison me?!" I heard a familiar voice yelling. Looking up, I saw it was Malik picking up a tray with one hand and his expression was that of a pissy Egyptian. What the fuck is his problem now? "We Ishtar's are vegetarian! Why the hell would you give me a tray with meatballs and pasta?"

I groaned. "Well, your vegetarian shit is on the floor if you still want it!"

He brought the arm with the tray back and I realised from that action that he was going to throw it. Scrambling to my feet, I knew that I had to be a moving target; he was more likely to miss. Sadly, Ryou didn't have that same common sense. Malik threw the tray and the contents on the tray spilled onto the floor and my idiot brother didn't think to do anything as the tray connected with his face.

I averted my eyes back to Malik to see how he'd react to what he just did. The cafeteria was in shock as Ryou went sent backwards, falling to the ground with the tray on his face. Malik, you moron.

Mariku threw back his head and laughed as Malik shrunk into some nervous wreck, slumping back in his chair and his head hanging low. Idiot, you should apologise at least. "Malik, you're a dumbshit. At least work on your aim! What did poor old Ryou ever do?" I could say the same but Malik was already looking depressed so... So I guess I will scold him later about it.

The rest of that lunchtime was spent with me having to sort out Ryou. We ended up discussing some stuff and than his friends joined us so I ditched. Yami bopped up and handed me a pile of books that he bought over the summer and had already read. It seems that Yami's the only one with common sense left.

I'd say Mariku too but... he's never had common sense to begin with, I figure. But everyone else... they're all hopeless. Especially Malik. What could he possibly do to get Ryou to like him? My brother is stupid but he has enough moral judgement to know that Malik isn't good for him.

The bell then rung and I had to go to my classroom 2KD. I didn't take me long to find it because it's the same damn form class as last year. But I suppose there are different people in my class. I sat down and was surprised to see Malik slump down next to me. Ugh, he's still down about accidentally hitting Ryou in the face with a lunch tray.

With a sigh, I told him that Ryou knew he didn't mean to hit him; that he knew Malik was aiming for me and that he isn't mad about it.

Malik looked up. "...Really?"

"Yes, really. Why else would I say it? I'm not the type of person to make up shit just so a person can feel better about themselves," I responded flatly.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, you don't have to be so rude about it."

We sat in silence as Kawamura-sensei began handing out individual timetables and before I got a look at mine, Malik snatched mine and began comparing his and my timetables. We have six subjects each this year and thus six classes a day. He grabbed a highlighter pen from his pocket and began colouring in boxes on each of our timetables.

"Everything that's highlighted are the classes we have together," he whispered as an explanation when he returned my timetable. I stared at the sheet of paper. Shit, it's covered in tons of yellow squares. I have four freaking classes with this guy! English, Gym, History and Science are those four classes.

"...Uh-huh," was all I could say. He sighed and muttered something that I didn't quite hear. I decided to let it go for it was probably another meaningless insult.

"Right, time for introductions! We may as well all get to know each other. Say your name and a fact about yourself!' Kawamura-sensei told the class and many of the other students groaned. Nobody gives a shit about each other's name. Especially since we're at a school with no females around but a ton of horny guys. Names are meaningless to the majority of students. He looked around the room and chose a random student to go first.

That student chosen stood up once chosen. "My name is Yami Muto and I have a twin brother at this school." Yeah, that's an easy one. It's better to pick a fact that's common knowledge because nobody cares if you say something really obscure about yourself.

I didn't remember many of the students' names, mostly the ones who I'd encountered often in my first year. Other people in my form class included Hiroto Honda and Katsuya Jounouchi and... Yeah, that's about it. Like I said, names are meaningless. It's easier to recognise faces than to recognise what you're supposed to call those faces by. I guess that was the origin behind insults.

Honda's introduction was pretty half-assed and quite a kick to the balls for some of the students. His chosen fact was that he got a girlfriend. And well, most guys at our school are losers so if someone like Honda got a girlfriend, the rest of us are falling way behind. But Malik and I both know that the two of us needn't worry about girlfriends.

Jounouchi's introduction was pretty half-assed too. He decided to show off a photo of his sister and yeah, most of the guys that got a good look at the photo were in awe. It's like Jounouchi is aware of the effect his sister has on people and wants to use it to his advantage when he can. But I know that once people start taking things too far, Jounouchi snaps and lets them have it.

Eventually it got to my introduction. I decided to follow Yami's example and say, "the name's Bakura Touzoku and I also have a twin brother." Sitting back down again and Malik standing up, I expected him to say something along the lines of what Yami and I said. But I forgot that Malik doesn't like to follow expectations.

"My name is Malik Ishtar and last summer, my twin brother was drunk and tried to make out with me."

...Lucky bastard.

I mean uh, what? What the hell? Everyone stared at Malik, unsure what to think about this. But everyone in the school knew Mariku and knew that this sorta of thing is definitely something that could happen. I'll have to quiz Malik about that sometime.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing stupid 'let's get to know one another!' activities that appear to be necessary at the start of the year. Then it was dinner time where I was stuck sitting with Ryou and his friends and wishing I was over at Mariku's table. I'm sure Malik would've loved to have swapped places with me. I guess the key is allowing that transition to happen.

Then we got shoved off back to our dormitory rooms and Malik made some comments about how Mariku wouldn't go back to his dormitory room just like that. Yeah, yeah. I know. Mariku would probably go and cause some havoc first.

Once in the dormitory rooms, Malik was lying on his bed mulling over things so I decided to flick through the books Yami gave me earlier. One of them didn't catch my interest but one of them seemed particularly appealing. I do appreciate decent vampire novels. Not stupid vampire romance shit but proper vampires who saw the humans as nothing more than prey. The smell of blood made their spirits thrive. And when the light comes, they retreat into the shadows until they can strike once more.

"Mariku told me what he said for his introduction..." Malik mumbled. I closed my book and looked up, ready to listen.

"What did he say?"

"Apparently he said, 'Everyone knows my name so I'll just say that I had a threesome during the summer!' and he made the teacher faint." I chuckled at this. I bet Mariku would say something outrageous like that. "...Then he told me over dinner that sorry, that threesome was held in my bedroom and the reason why I came home to discover that parts of my bedroom including my bed had been burnt down was because he was too lazy to clean up. At the time, when I saw about half my room burnt down, I ended up grabbing the hose and flooding his bedroom mostly out of fury. I found it funny, learning the reason behind why he did it today."

I wasn't sure what to say. Was this supposed to be an amusing family tale? Because holy shit, Malik's a psycho in his own right. They're both crazy but different kinds of crazy. Mariku burnt half of Malik's room down because he was lazy and felt like being a jerk while Malik flooded Mariku's room because he was furious. I wonder what Mariku did about that. Probably laugh.

Mariku seemed like the kind of person who didn't get truly angry. He just liked to mock everyone, take a piss at the world around him. Carefree, I guess. He probably thinks he can get away with everything. I think he can get away with everything too.

"Bakura... go on. Tell me a random story."

"Eh?"

"You can't possibly think I'll just tell you my story and not expect anything in return?"

A story huh? Uh... I can't tell stories to save my life. What would satisfy the Ishtar? Eh, I'll just make a sentence up and roll with it.

"Once upon a time..." A pillow was thrown at my face. I chucked the pillow back and glared, irritated about the interruption. "What the hell was that for?"

"I don't want a fairytale! An actual story, like in real life or something!"

I frowned. I am telling a proper story. One that happened in real life. With a sigh, I decided to continue speaking. "Once upon a time, there were two boys who were born as twin brothers. One brother's name was Bakura and the other's name was Ryou. From the beginning, they were opposites. Ryou grew up to be a happy boy while Bakura was lured by shadows and the dark side. Bakura wanted to believe in ghosts and was irritated by how Ryou wouldn't go along with it. So for Halloween, Bakura decided that he would once and for all, make Ryou believe in ghosts."

Malik raised a hand. "Is this a real story as in... it actually happened?"

"Duh. I can't make up stuff for shit."

"Figures. Idiot."

"And so Bakura decided to ignore Malik's rude commentary and continued with his plotting to scare the living hell out of Ryou! So he set up things like fake hands sticking out of toilets. Mind you, this Bakura was a little dumbarse seven year old who thought his plans were brilliant. Ryou discovered these traps and was so frightened that he avoided the bathroom for weeks. He would always go to the neighbour's house everytime he needed the bathroom. Bakura found it really amusing but Ryou still didn't believe in ghosts. He did however, get a phobia of hands coming out of toilets."

Malik chuckled at this. "I see. You're a bastard." He stretched his arms out and then snuggled under the covers. "Turn out the light, I'm going to sleep."

"You're closer to the door, you do it."

"Turn out the light, damn it!"

I decided now wasn't a good time to get Malik pissed off so I flicked the light switch off and went to sleep as well.

---

...Why do I feel like something's on top of me?

Oh yeah, because something is. Fine, I'll wake up already. Just get the hell off me. I woke up and went bright red. Some guy is right on top of me. I swear he's almost straddling me. It was hard to properly make out who it was but I get the feeling it's an Ishtar.

"Mariku...?"

"Guess again."

...What? Uh... Shit, not Malik! I sat right up, my forehead bashing into his face, causing a somewhat painful collision. It didn't help that Malik decided to punch me back in retaliation. The bitch still wouldn't get off me.

I saw that the Malik was holding a torch and he looked somewhat energetic despite his tired eyes. He suddenly clamped a hold of my wrists and held them down to prevent me from kicking the damn kid off properly.

"If you try to rape me, I'll kill you." I got a punch for that comment but it meant I had a free wrist, which I used to shove the Egyptian off me. "At least give me a decent explanation as to why you decided to get on top of me."

"I have no idea. Anyway, now that you're awake, we have to get up and watch Mariku's show."

"Mariku's... show?"

Malik nodded. "That's right! The first night of our second year at Domino Boarding School. Mariku wanted to make it special. Prepare to really fall for him."

What he said made me wonder. All I could do was think about what Malik's words meant. No, what they meant to me. He yanked me out of bed by my arm and made me follow him. We went up so many staircases until we were on the top floor, which had a door leading to an outside deck where we could look out over the school. The top floor is also the fifth floor. There weren't dormitories here, there wasn't anything here. But there was the view.

I hadn't bothered coming up to the fifth floor much. It was more of a Ryou kind of thing to do. He appreciated beauty and stuff like that. I decided to mention this to Malik and he sighed.

"I know. This was where I first met Touzoku-kun," Malik explained and with the torch light and moonlight, I could make out a sad smile upon his lips. "I was an ass at first though. I was here before he was and when he first appeared, I told him to fuck off. I used to be really horrible to him but he'd keep returning. Again and again, Touzoku-kun kept forgiving my behaviour. I didn't understand but... I guess it made me notice him more."

"When you have someone like me for a brother, you tend to forgive jerk-like behaviour," I commented with a grin.

Malik laughed at this and nodded in agreement. "We're not so different, you and I."

"Please don't compare me to the pms-ing bitch that is you!" I joked. But I understood what he was saying. We both have weird desires. We both know want more than what we have. We both have an attitude of sorts. And... The two of us are a pair of hopeless fools. I used to think that nothing could be more irritating than being me. Perhaps the world is worse from Malik's eyes.

Speaking of Malik, I was surprised that he didn't hit me, letting me off with a glare and a mutter of "Idiot" under his breath. I grinned at him, amused by Malik's irritated expression rather than annoyed at him. Somehow, I felt that we were getting on fast. It's a damn weird partnership that we share. Or maybe once when you know more about Malik behind that temper, he's actually a decent person.

But I think he's more interesting when snapping off at people.

"So why are we up here?"

"I'm going to make you jump off this building."

"What?!" I backed towards the door and Malik snickered at me. He grabbed my arm and shoved me towards the edge. Thank god there were deck railings. He forced me to look down and so I squinted to see some figures moving on the field below.

Malik came up beside me and yelled out to the figures on the field. "Mariku! Touzoku-kun! We're in place!" For fuck's sake Malik, you're going to wake everyone up. Wait, Mariku and Ryou are down there? What's going on?

"Awesome!! Did you drag Bakura along?!" Mariku yelled back. If I squinted properly, I saw the outline of his body with the brilliant spiked hair of his. It seems he dragged my brother along and they both had equipment. I think I heard Ryou try to call out to me but only Mariku and Malik had the ability to yell from such a distance away and hear each other.

"Yup!"

"I'll get started then!"

I spun round to face Malik and ask what was going on. He just told me to watch and wait. So I decided I'd have to. The next thing I knew, bursts of colour shot up into the sky and instantly I knew it was Mariku's doing. I could tell people were waking up due to this. The fireworks and Mariku's maniacal laughter could probably be heard by the entire world.

Mariku, I always knew you were brilliant. You know how to make yourself known. And I think nobody will enjoy their life more than you. You're deliciously psychotic. I just know that if the teachers get pissed over this, they have a lot to be prepared for.

There isn't anything in this world more ingenious than Mariku's setting up fireworks, the explosions of colour in the night sky caused by said fireworks and the roaring laugh that Mariku did to accentuate his actions. Damn, we really do have the best view from up here. Second best anyway. Mariku's assistant Ryou probably had the number one best view of the event but the fool will never really understand its worth.

"Stop getting turned on, I can't make a wish properly with your perverted face beside me."

Why did Mariku have such an irritating twin brother?

"You're such a killjoy," I grumbled. "You wish on shooting stars, not fireworks anyway."

"I'm making a wish anyway so you should make one too."

"Fine. I wish Malik Ishtar would stop being an asshole."

"Be serious, you fool!" Malik snapped, kicking my shin. I bit my lip and clenched my fists, hoping like mad that Malik didn't see that damn it, his kicks hurt like hell. But why is he insisting that I make a wish? Fireworks aren't a proper substitute for shooting stars and that's that. "The last wish I made was during a fireworks festival and it came true so make your wish before Mariku runs out of fireworks or the teachers get pissy and make him stop." He yanked at my hair. "Do it!"

"I wish Malik would stop pulling at my hair!"

"Don't tell me your wish!" he snapped, pulling at my hair even more. "It won't come true if you don't that!"

I sighed and tried to think. When was the last time I made a wish? Did it ever come true? I got the feeling Malik was the type of person who felt the need to make wishes regularly. He doesn't seem to be the type of person who really knew how to believe in himself. He's too unsure. He needs to rely on wishes as some hope to latch onto. And if that's the truth, then fuck, he is a sad case. On the other hand, I don't need wishes. I'll just make one I know will come true. I've got it.

I wish I will become a psycho in the near future.

"...I've made my wish," I told Malik and he released my hair from his grasp. I swear this guy will be the death of me. He thinks he can push me around but someday, I'll have to show him who's boss.

...And that'll be me.

"Excellent! Starting tomorrow, you will make it so that it's okay for me and Touzoku-kun to approach each other like actual friends. I don't want to always be the jerk that he keeps on showing kindness to. I want to be on even ground. Friends," he explained to me and I just kept nodding my head at his words like some kind of retarded bobble-head doll or something.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I can't forget a damn thing about our plan with you hanging around! Just don't show your temper in front of Ryou so much and you'll be fine."

"...Mm..."

We continued watching the fireworks display that Mariku was doing. It seems the teachers wanted to wait until he was finished with his show. I wouldn't want to interrupt Mariku either. Seeing the fireworks from up here was decent but to be at Mariku's side, helping set those fireworks off into the sky would be key. That's what would be ideal.

When he ran out of fireworks did I finally notice that so many students were awake and an excited vibe filled the building. Yeah, that's the Mariku effect. I wanted to watch and see what happened to Mariku and Ryou but Malik dragged me back down the stairs and to our dormitory. Geez Malik, you were intent on making me your slave from the beginning, weren't you?

Whatever. I guess that since I'd already agreed to your bargaining, I knew I'd be riding some kind of crazy rollercoaster.

Just give me something to rave over at least! I want a thrill!

---

"Let me tell you some key points about Mariku..." Malik began in a low voice. We were at the cafeteria eating breakfast and we grabbed a separate table so we could begin plotting. After all, Malik has a crush on Ryou so I have to help him get together with him while Malik's side of the deal is that he'll set me up with Mariku.

I wasn't as shocked when I woke up to Malik sitting on me again. I guess it's a habit of his. He said I woke up with a lively mood whenever he did that and he hates waking up to tired old grouches or something. It's obvious he can't tell the difference from a lively mood to a pissed off one. Maybe I should learn to wake up before Malik does, then that wouldn't be happening.

Anyway, Malik's telling me some vital information so I better listen up. The subject of conversation was currently in a dilemma between shoving his food in his mouth and laughing at some joke. Hn, he decided to try both at the same time. It wasn't the most attractive thing I'd ever seen.

"Number one: Mariku is far too honest. He's totally fine with telling you everything he's thinking regardless of whether you want to know or not."

"Gotcha," I replied to indicate that I was listening properly. Eh, I'm not too surprised though I can see how people would find this troubling.

"Number two: Mariku's... hormonal. He makes out with people regardless of whether they want him to or not."

"I could live with that."

Malik rolled his eyes at me. "Number three: Mariku never tidies up after himself. He has people who can do that for him if needed."

"He's a way better slave master than you."

"Shut up, slave. Number four: no matter what you do, never ever express hate for anyone when around Mariku. Mariku will torment that person more than necessary."

"I'm not sure if that's actually a bad thing but I'll take your word for it."

"Number five: no matter what you do, remain on Mariku's good side. Pissed off Mariku is well... dangerous. Even teachers have let him off huge punishments just because he glared at them. Anyway, just don't do it!" Malik warned me. Judging from his expression, I'd say he was serious. Personally, I think a pissed off Mariku sounds extremely intriguing but eh, maybe I'll just take Malik's advice for now.

"Don't do what?"

Malik jumped five feet in the air. Okay, not really. But his reaction to the newcomer to our table was interesting. Ryou had come to join us. Malik's sun-kissed skin was now becoming a shade known as tomato red. Shit, his temper may be gone but whenever Ryou appears, does he switch to being insanely nervous? Holy crap, I can already sense disaster.

"Malik was just telling me that I shouldn't... uh..." Fuck, where's a good excuse when I need one?

"Drugs! Don't do drugs!" Malik blurted out in a rush. Thank god Ryou knows the language of babble and so he caught all of that. He placed his tray on our table and pulled up a seat beside Malik, who let out a small squeak suddenly. Shit Malik, are you male or not? Gah, I can tell that Malik was happy to have Ryou sit beside him but his goofy expression was disturbing too. And the fact that Ryou is oblivious to this baffled me even more.

"I agree, Malik-kun! Even though I know people who have done drugs, I made it my personal decision only to take prescription drugs," Ryou agreed with a smile. Thank god Ryou is the way he is. His cluelessness can prove to be useful at times.

But there's a disadvantage to the seating plan. I can't whisper anything to Malik in terms of making good discussion with Ryou. I guess I'll just have to take charge. "So Ryou, show us your timetable. Let's compare and see if we got any classes together." Ryou nodded and pulled out a notebook and opening it up on the page where he'd stuck in his timetable. I looked through it and grinned. "We have History and Math together."

"Really? Hey Malik-kun, get out your timetable." Malik immediately scrambled through his pockets and pulled out his scrunched out timetable. He handed it to Ryou who scanned through it with his constant smile. "Us three all have History together and... I'm in your Drama class. I hope you can show me the ropes in that subject, I only took Drama in the hopes of boosting my confidence. I hear a lot of people wanted you for the big school production but you refused. Why was that?"

Malik jabbed his fork into a hash brown and began cutting it up into small pieces. Shit, is he trying to distract himself from the fact that he has no idea how to talk properly when around Ryou? He is really is like some pms-ing girl!

"Uh... um... well... I... didn't like the script?"

"Ah, not into western tales?"

"I prefer uh... I don't know?"

"Musicals? I like musicals best."

"I like musicals too."

"Which is your favourite? I really loved this musical that I saw in the summer called Wicked! Have you seen it?"

"...N-No..."

"If they do another performance of it sometime, we should all go to it then!"

Malik's eyes lit up. "Sounds like a plan."

"What sounds like a plan?" Why does everyone like interrupting our conversations? This interruption, I didn't mind however. Ryou babbling on about musicals to Malik who clearly didn't know any better was starting to get tiresome to listen to. Mariku pulled up a chair and placed himself beside me. Now that's something else I don't mind.

"Good morning Mariku-kun! Malik-kun and I were thinking about seeing this musical together if it ever gets performed again somewhere locally," Ryou answered the crazier of the Ishtar twins with a warm greeting. Yeah, that's Ryou alright.

Mariku let out a laugh. I swear I could never get tired of that laugh. "Hey Malik! Remember when we set fire to those DVDs? I think one of them was a musical. What's it called again? West Side Shit?"

"West Side Story," Ryou corrected him. I could tell from his expression that he disapproved of hearing that Mariku and Malik set fire to DVDs. To him, that would be a tragedy and he doesn't even watch television.

"Ah, right. Yeah well, our parents should be getting a call from the video hire store about the DVDs being overdue and we'll let them suss out what to do about the ashes, right Malik?" Mariku continued, winking at his brother.

"Is that what you meant by liking musicals, Malik-kun? That you liked to set fire to DVDs of musical films with your brother?" Ryou asked and Malik shook his head. Malik, it's too late. Mariku's already screwed you over. But with the way you're behaving right now, you deserved that. Now man up and talk properly. If only I could say that. Actually, Ryou's used to be being an ass and Mariku approves of asses. Okay, I'll be an ass.

"Malik, you're really screwed, aren't ya? Trying to keep Ryou satisfied by saying you like musicals but it's also true that you joined in with burning the DVDs. Stop being a moron and contradicting yourself like that. Make up your mind on what you – Ow, fuck!" Right in the middle of while I was talking, Malik jabbed both my eyes with his fingers. The fucking arsehole was now wiping his fingers with the tablecloth and Mariku was laughing, clearly amused. Ryou gasped and ask if I was okay. "No, fucking hell Malik! You know that what I'm saying is the truth!"

Malik scowled at me. "Idiot. I'd hit you again but I'd catch the stupid off you."

I rolled my eyes and Mariku continued to snicker at our bickering. He whacked me on the back and I decided to assume what was a friend gesture of his. "Looks like Malik has found a new best friend. Good luck, Bakura."

"Hn, I'll need it," I muttered, wiping my eyes.

Ryou giggled nervously and then he turned to Malik, patting his shoulder. This action of course, made the dumbass turn all shy again. "Thanks for being nice about my interests, Malik-kun. But it doesn't matter, I don't mind if we don't have all the same interests. You don't have to have everything in common with your friends, right? That would be a bit boring; it's good to meet people with different hobbies and lifestyles."

Malik's eyes widened, his blush getting darker. "Friends?"

"Yes," Ryou nodded, "we're friends, right?"

Mariku slammed his fist on the table. "Ryooooooouuuuuu, get me more chocolate milk!"

Malik stood up. "I'll get it!"

I grinned. "Why don't the two of you go together? I'll have lime milk." And just like that, I successfully gave Malik some alone time with Ryou. Gosh I'm brilliant. But to my surprise, as Malik and Ryou walked over to the cafeteria counter, Malik turned his head and shot me a death glare. What the hell? Dude, I gave you a chance to be alone with your crush, what more do you want from me? I guess there's still a lot I need to learn about Malik.

Oh who gives a shit! I'm hanging out with Mariku, just me and him. This is freaking sweet. I don't care if Malik's not satisfied because I know for sure that I am. But Mariku's expression was different. He didn't seem to have that crazed look in his eyes that he usually does. He looked rather sour, actually. Shit, am I not interesting enough for him?

"Man, does your brother usually act like that? He seems to switch from being foul-tempered and being shy and contradictory!" I asked, hoping to make some form of conversation.

"...I don't know what his deal is," he replied, placing his elbows on the table, resting his head in one hand and fiddling with his hair with the other hand. What the hell? Where did Mariku go? I mean, where did his usual attitude go? "...Oi, Bakura. You're a decent kid."

I raised an eyebrow. "That was a stupid compliment."

He grinned at this. "Fine, everytime I see you, I get aroused. Better?"

"That was stupid as well but an improvement. I assume you're trying to go somewhere with this?"

"Oh yes, yes I am," he replied with a seductive tone. I think I do like where this is going. Then his expression reverted back to his more serious expression. "No, I need you to do me a favour."

I leaned in to show I was listening. "Do tell."

Mariku outstretched his arms and let out a yawn. Then he slammed down his fist and his eyes lit up again. He yanked me by my shirt collar and pulled me in close. I think I still like where this is going, I still like where this is going.

He opened his mouth and I could feel his hot breath tingle against my skin. Damn, Malik wasn't kidding when he said his brother is horny. I still don't mind. I still like where this is going.

"I want you to seduce Malik," he whispered softly.

...

I don't like where this is going anymore.

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**Aw Bakura, he thought he was going to score! XD I like him being all, "hell yeah I like psycho people 8D" because I can kind of see him being intrigued by psychotic people often. And yeah, part of him being all "hell yeah" over Mariku's psycho side will make it fun for when he actually gets to know Mariku better in the fic and see how he responds to other aspects of Mariku. As for Malik being overly shy when around Ryou, yeah I just felt like having him act that way just to complicate things and so there's a real contrast to how he acts around Ryou and how he acts around everyone else.**

**Yeah, I'm done rambling. Pondering whether to plonk in Prideshipping on not. And eventually, my other main character will bop up soon too. Cuz my main cast will be Bakura, Malik, Mariku, Ryou and another dude... Try and guess who you think it is! X3**

**In any case, what will Bakura do? Will he stick with his plan of happening Malik get together with Ryou or will he agree to Mariku's favour? Find out in the next update!**

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


	3. Shame

**LOLOL, another update. X3 I suddenly realised that I made Bakura quite a thinking type in this fic. I guess I can see him being careful to watch the world around him, make judgements of what he observes means to him, etc. Also, I get the feeling this fic's plot is more character driven than some of my other ones which rely on tons of events or whatever. Hn. But I like fleshing characters out so wooo. XDD**

**In any case, read on and if you review too, you'll get a giant cake! *shot to pieces* XD**

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Chapter Three: Shame

**Bakura's POV**

Who did I want to please more? Malik or Mariku?

Who did I want more? Malik or Mariku?

Whose plans do I like the least? Malik's or Mariku's?

The answer to every single question was Mariku.

So how should I put it? I have no idea what to say right now!

You see, I promised Malik that I would help him out with getting together with Ryou. In return, he said he'd help me with Mariku. It's one of those deals that I know I can't go back on just like that. I can't.

But what Mariku wants, it feels like no matter the circumstances, I have to go along with it. I feel commanded by Mariku's will. It seems I have a problem with being a bitch for the Ishtar's. That problem needs to be dealt to as soon as possible. The thing is, going along with what Mariku wants, while it will most certainly make me get a higher ranking in Mariku's books, it's going to take me down a gazillion ranks in Malik's books once he realises what's going on.

Malik is the type of person who has the potential to find out any information he wants. Even if nobody were to tell Malik that I'm seducing him because Mariku suggested it, he'd find out one way or another. I just know he would.

"...What?" Was that honestly the best response I could make? Certainly I can do better than that. I faked a smirk and cocked my head to the side, attempting to look as laidback about his favour as possible. "Why would you ask me to do that?"

Mariku sat back and raised an eyebrow. I suppose to him, his plans were entirely normal. Or at least, this one was one of his less crazy ones. "Because you two are hot sex." Oh my, referring to his brother as Hot Sex. I quite like the fact he referred to me as Hot Sex too. Even though that really didn't help answer my question. I pointed this out to him and he groaned. "Malik seems to be in a shitty mood and what better way to improve the mood than a good old fuck?"

I love how blatantly Mariku throws around his words. Even though he says weird stuff, it amuses me. Nobody could possibly get bored when around this guy.

"No seriously. Why the hell?"

The spikey-haired Egyptian hesitated with a blank look upon his face. We waited a couple of moments. Then he regained his composure and burst out laughing, acting as if we didn't have some kind of demented silence just then. "Don't they say that having a fuck buddy fixes everything?"

I sighed. "Do you really think sex solves everything?"

"Of course not. Explosions are really arousing too. But I'm sick of my brother Malik being so bad tempered and having no mates. He's a virgin, that's a shocker amongst teens in this day and age so I figured that well, I'll just find solutions to my brother's many problems one by one and I think the best place to start is the loner issue."

"Oh Ra, Mariku!" I chuckled, using the 'Oh Ra' phrase that Mariku used when Malik tripped over yesterday lunchtime. "You can't expect me to seduce him. Anyway, Ryou said he'd be his friend. Isn't that good enough?"

"But I think-"

"I'm not going to."

I know about the art of seduction. What it involves. All it tends to result in is a flare of lust. Like a flame. But flames burn out. And what was the point in making Malik satisfied temporarily only for things to be much worse than they were to begin with? Malik may put up a tough front but he's really a vulnerable guy on the inside. Surely Mariku is aware of that. But I suppose he's used to being tough inside and out.

Plus Malik's plan has... more dignity in it. I can't even imagine what hitting on Malik would be like. He'd look at me funny and call me an idiot or punch me for being perverted. There'd be no fun in that. Malik's plan also allows me to get closer to Mariku.

Actually, now that I think about it... The fact that Mariku's suggesting this plan means he's shoving me off to the side with his brother. That bastard.

But the dark eyes that Mariku was giving me now could convince anyone that his ideas were better. No, I think it would impress him more if I stood up to him. I know those eyes were a warning but I no longer cared. He wants a stupid favour and someone has to tell him it's stupid.

"The idea is stupid."

"You're no fun..." he grumbled as he watched Malik and Ryou return with the drinks. His eyes lit up while all I could think at that exact moment was... well, shit. That wasn't the response I wanted to receive.

A nudge on my arm snapped me back to the ongoing situation. Malik was lightly hitting my arm with the bottle of lime milk that I ordered. I nodded at him and he still looked irritated. His face was bright red but he still looked annoyed. I'm seriously going to have to question him about this later.

"Ryou, Ryou, Ryou!" Mariku pulled my brother's arm and sat him on his lap. Ryou's cheeks flushed pink as me and Malik eyed them enviously. For very different reasons. I don't think Mariku realises that I really don't feel at my best right now with him saying I'm no fun and then paying attention to my brother. I know he looks out for my brother as a friend but it still pisses me off.

Malik on the other hand looked set to kill. I soon realised that the Ishtar twins were having a silent conversation. They understood each other just like that. The next thing I knew as Mariku began forcing Ryou to drink chocolate milk too was that Malik just grabbed me by the back of my shirt collar and was attempting to yank me up. But sadly for him, I was firmly planted in my seat so he looked like a hopeless case, failing to force me out of my chair.

"Bakura, get up! We have to get... uh... get our gear for... Science!" Malik snapped and I immediately stood up. Getting gear for Science was a pathetic excuse considering it's the last subject for today but I could tell that Malik wanted to leave and if I objected, that would make things tons more difficult. Plus, I felt awkward too. I guess leaving isn't a bad idea.

As we proceeded to make our way out of the cafeteria, Mariku yelled after us. Or more, me. "Bakura, you can always change your mind!" Eh, he still hasn't given up on that.

Malik turned and scowled at Mariku. Many students went silent. I guess a showdown between the Ishtar twins would be something anyone would watch intently. "I know you said something to Bakura! Tell me!"

Mariku twirled a strand of Ryou's hair round his finger. He's being way too laidback. Doesn't the fact Malik looks ready to kill you bother you? I didn't know whether I was annoyed or impressed. This is weird. Normally I'd side with Mariku but for some reason, I wanted to be on Malik's side and be irritated too. I'm always going to prefer Mariku over Malik but I'm allowed to disagree with Mariku and agree with Malik every once in a while... right?

"I asked Bakura to deflower you because you're such an anti-social bitch but he said no. Guess he was horrified at the idea of doing you," Mariku replied casually and I felt my face burn up. Damn it, Mariku! I glanced at Malik as did many others: all eyes were on him, anticipating his reaction.

He slowly reached for an empty chair and began picking it up. Raising it in the air, I realised what he was thinking of doing. "Malik, it's not worth it!" I tried to intervene but his furious expression didn't change and he only lifted the chair up higher.

"...I don't submit to fucktards!" he yelled as he smashed the chair back to the ground. I watched in amazement as one of the chair legs snapped as it hit the floor of the cafeteria. Without another word, he dashed out of the cafeteria. I glanced at the chair and contemplated what to do. There was an eerie silence in the cafeteria, probably confused at what just happened.

I let out a loud sigh. "Mariku, are you and your brother often like this?"

Mariku finished his chocolate milk and chucked the bottle to my feet. "Don't worry. Everytime I piss him off and he runs off to sulk, he comes back a stronger person. There's a certain kind of joy to that. Malik can handle it when a person is harsh."

Hm, I can kind of see what Mariku's saying. In a sense, he's trying to toughen his brother up and make him learn how to deal with things himself. He's showing Malik that the world is one heck of a cruel bitch. I think he's aware of many things like Malik's vulnerability. He just responds differently to how most others would.

"Still Mariku-kun," Ryou spoke up nervously, aware that almost everyone was still silent, listening in on our conversation. "There's a fine line between-"

"Stop it." All eyes were on me now. Oh, I just spoke. I found myself picking up the chair and giving all the other students a threatening look. "I'm throwing this chair at anyone who doesn't go back to what they're doing and pretend like nothing ever happened!" I yelled and almost everyone turned away and tried to build up a conversation as if nothing ever did happen. I paced the room and eventually handed it to Mariku. "I'm out of here. Anyone acts like a dick and you have the right to smash this chair in their face."

I'm sure that after this, the Ishtar twins wouldn't be the only twins with a screwed up reputation.

So I ditched the cafeteria and made it my plan to find Malik. This proved harder than I thought. I searched around many areas of the school and remembered that I hadn't learned about all the places in the school where Malik hangs out. Eventually I went to a corner with many trees and a tall fence that prevented students from trying to escape. Ah, there's someone behind one of the trees. I'll look stupid if I check and it's not him. But I'll try.

I poked my head around the corner and a familiar student with his head facing the tree. Flaxen blonde hair, dark skin... Yeah, it's Malik. "Yo." His head jerked up at me instantly and he looked set to kill but his face softened when he saw it was me. I stared at his hand, which was clutching a craft knife. "...What's with the knife?"

"Look," he pointed at the tree. I looked closely and saw heaps of slash marks on the bark. Was he trying to slash a pattern? No, they looked too random. "Whenever I get frustrated with my brother, I attack this tree. I cut the bark because... I don't know. I just do."

"Well, better the tree than yourself," I remarked with a flat tone. Sighing again, I added, "...Gee, you really do have issues." He stabbed the tree when I said that and took his hand away, leaving the knife there. "Seriously, why are you so all over the place? You act like an ass around me, sulk when Mariku annoys you and then get all nervous around Ryou!"

"...I don't know. I don't really have... people skills. It used to be easier when it came to Touzoku-kun. I used to treat him similarly to how I treat you and everyone else... But one day, I became more conscious of Touzoku-kun when I realised how kind he was to me... I don't know how to thank him for forgiving my ways. I guess I just need to find the halfway line between being an ass and being shy..."

I kneeled down beside him and took the knife, shooting him a glare. "No fucking kidding! You may be a pms-ing bitch but you don't have to make it obvious to the world!" I was expecting a punch but I didn't get one. Malik looked at me and smirked.

"Say, what if you did say yes?"

"To what?"

"To Mariku wanting you to seduce me?"

I went bright red. Malik, awkward question, okay? "Sorry to disappoint you, but I still don't want to seduce you."

Now I got that punch, this time on the shoulder. "Let me rephrase that. How would you have done it?"

"I don't know. There's just no point in seducing you."

"Fine, I'll be direct. Teach me the art of seduction."

"...What?"

"If Mariku thinks you can seduce someone, then you're capable. He doesn't ask favours like that from just anyone, you know."

I shook my head, totally not following what was happening. "Wait, wait. You want me to teach you how to... flirt?"

Malik nodded. "That's basically what I said, right?"

"...You have got to be kidding me."

The blonde sighed, placing his hands on my knees and his head looking down at the grass we were kneeling on. "Mariku is aware of... my crush on Touzoku-kun. So he's deliberately paying attention to Touzoku-kun like that in front of me. He has that confidence and charm that Touzoku-kun is unable to say no to."

"So you want to be able to charm Ryou?" I concluded from his words. I figured that could've been the case. They had that silent exchange earlier in the cafeteria and I knew that something was going on there.

"Yeah because then I could... be the satisfied one for once. I could defeat Mariku and have Touzoku-kun. Anyway..." he got to his feet and lightly took the knife from my hands. He placed the knife in this opening in the tree and grabbed my wrist. As the Egyptian pulled me up, I noticed something different with his eyes. They looked more confident, determined. I guess Mariku was right. "Thanks, Bakura."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's with the thanks?"

He grinned. "You said no to a favour that while it would've impressed Mariku heaps if you pulled it off; it was a favour that wouldn't have sat well with me. I know you favour him to me but still, you thought about me and ended up saying no. It turns out you're a more reliable slave that I initially thought," he explained while I rolled my eyes. Ah, I see.

"Don't expect me to be that reliable. I don't do stuff like that for free. Nor will I teach you some social skills for free either," I told him, copying his grin. "I am not your slave; I do not work under you."

"Oh Bakura-sama, would you honour me by sharing your wisdom?" Malik muttered sarcastically. I laughed at this.

"Do keep that up, I quite like being a sama." He jabbed my side and started walking off. I had to run and catch up. "Oi, Malik! Work on toning down your urge to punch someone into next week!"

"So long as I try to refrain from doing so in front of Touzoku-kun, I'll be fine."

"No, you won't be!"

"Why not?"

"Word gets around! He knows you smash up classrooms and stuff!"

"Shit! I suppose I can't smash up classrooms from now on!"

"Isn't not smashing up classrooms common sense?"

---

"And so..." the English teacher began, "I'll be drawing up our seating plan for the entire semester."

But all I could think was... this teacher is doomed. Doomed to hell. Why? He has two Ishtar's in his classroom. A disruptive one and a destructive one. The air of the classroom felt incredibly heavy as Malik and Mariku chose to be on opposite ends of the classroom. From the looks of things, the teacher understood too. He showed us the seating plan and I found that I was placed next to Mariku and Malik was put at the other side of the class beside Yugi.

I could see Yugi struggling with whether to talk to Malik or not. He made the wise decision not to; Malik looked pretty irritated. I guess he didn't fancy having Mariku in his class and knowing him, he probably wanted to continue discussing plans with me. I however, was quite satisfied at having the handsome yet irritating Mariku sitting beside me.

Mariku seems to sit with a bit of a slouch yet he still looked like he was in control. He noticed me watching him and grinned. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"That you're a bitch."

He sighed, disappointed. "What, am I not being seductive enough?"

"I always thought being too seductive was your problem..." I muttered, slamming my textbooks on my desk. Mariku flashed his brilliant smirk at me before kicking his feet up and placing them on his desk.

"Ishtar! Feet off the desk!" the teacher ordered but Mariku kept them firmly planted.

"Malik, you heard the teacher!" Mariku shouted. "Feet off the desk!"

"These feet will be kicking your face soon if you don't cut it out!" Malik snapped.

Like I said, this teacher is doomed to hell. Perhaps the rest of us are doomed too. "Oh yes, why did I have to get stuck with the Ishtar twins? Right, Malik will be Ishtar-kun and Mariku will be..."

"Ishtar-sama?" Mariku finished the teacher's sentence for him with a slightly hopeful expression. I was probably the only one to dare laugh at this but I didn't care. It especially felt good when Mariku glanced at me, clearly in approval.

"With that attitude, you'll be Ishtar-baka," the teacher sighed and then he started the usual drawl of the general plan for the year. Ah, sounds like a load of essays, a novel study, a film study, poetry study, and the usual unfamiliar texts shit... God, English could actually be more interesting if they threw in some study on particular genres of literature, particularly the mystery and horror genre stuff.

But the school curriculum means that everything we study will bore us to tears. Of course. No surprises.

When the teacher decided to make us copy notes from the board, we finally got a chance to whisper amongst ourselves.

"I suppose..." Mariku began with a low voice, "I suppose that being his trusty roommate is good enough for now."

"I hope you're actually being serious with that," I remarked. Mariku hadn't even started copying down notes yet while I'd already scribbled down half of them.

Mariku snickered at this. "I am, I am. By the way, I know about Malik. He knows I know. I figure you know too."

"I think I know what you're talking about."

"About Ryou."

"Figures. Damn brother of mine."

"I think Malik just wants proof of forgiveness."

"I think you're just getting in the way because it pisses him off."

"I'm getting in the way because it pisses me off."

I decided that now was the time to be careful with my words. It was lucky that nobody else could hear us but what was being said here bothered me. If only I had time to interpret his words and see the meanings. Mariku had a funny way of being direct yet not really. He liked to mess with your mind and then when you get it, you realise that it all should have been painstakingly obvious.

"Bakura, Malik needs to back off."

"Why do you even give a damn? Ryou's my brother; I don't mind him and Malik together."

"Ryou can't have an Ishtar. We both know Ryou. But neither of you know a thing about the Ishtar's." Mariku's tone was harsh and somehow, I didn't mind this. I didn't care how he behaved around me; I would tolerate anything. But I knew this to be true. What do Ryou or I know about Malik and Mariku? In time, would we ever know?

Is this lack of knowledge going to forever be the rift between Mariku and me, Ryou and Malik?

"Don't think you know all about the Touzoku's either," I said dryly, not sure what else to say.

"I know that Ryou writes-"

"Don't say it!"

...Shit, what did I just say? Mariku stared at me in surprise. I just cut him off and shouted at him. But I got the feeling I knew what he was going to say. That means he knows..! Fuck, he knows! Ryou, now two others know your secret. I never thought Mariku would get to know something like that. I really didn't want him to know either.

Because... because it makes me feel so ashamed. Because I know what Ryou writes. And who he's writing to.

"Touzoku, keep your voice down!" the teacher snapped and then went back to writing up more notes on the board. I dropped my pen on my desk and looked over at Malik who was staring at the window. If I could ignore the whole classroom feel, I could see it.

He is looking out that window and watching the endless blue sky, under the belief that his wish will come true. What he wished for, I can't be definite but what I do know is that Malik has probably experienced so much more in life than I can even imagine.

I wish that all those books I've read gave me insight. But no, I am just a shameless guy reading it for the heck of it, not even really taking anything to heart. I can't understand anything. Perhaps I'm not supposed to.

But even I can see the certain tragedy that clung tight to the Egyptian known as Malik Ishtar. Would he let Ryou know? He needs to remember that things have to be even between him and Ryou.

After English finished, Mariku was the first to run out the door. I had no idea why he was being so hasty to get away. I walked over to Malik who was still staring idly out the window. We were the only ones left in the classroom. "Mariku's running away because he said something he feels he shouldn't have. He's so upfront that there's stuff he'd say that even he feels was unnecessary to say," Malik told me in a far away voice. "...I wanted to see your expression when you yelled out at Mariku not to say something. But then I thought, hey, I hate it when people can see my vulnerability. So I looked out the window instead but..."

"But?"

He swirled his hair round and stared up at me with those amethyst eyes. "But nothing."

I let out a sigh. "Mariku wants you to back off."

"It's because he knows the truth."

"Ha?"

The blonde Egyptian grinned at me. "Don't worry. My hardships are my hardships. Your hardships are your hardships. I'll tell you mine if I feel like it and same goes for you."

I nodded. He's right. These things take time. Perhaps someday, I'll make it so Ryou and Malik can confide in one another. I have no idea about me and Mariku. Maybe we aren't supposed to be like that. We'll be crazy people dominating over the world. It's weird but I wouldn't mind ending up doing that. I sound like I'm destined to be evil or something when I think about stuff like that.

"I get really... bored with life. There's so much I want to do but I get held back by so much. I took that knife for a moment because... because... I wanted to carve out my own frustrations too..." I found myself speaking up, staring at my hand, which I then clenched. "Sometimes I really don't mind a person but sometimes I find myself hating them. Too often, I've gone back and forth from thinking, 'Mariku is fucking awesome' and 'Mariku is fucking annoying'."

"And some days, you just want to fuck him?"

"Yes!" I blurted out before realising what I just agreed to. Malik rolled his eyes.

"Pervert." He sat up at last, shoving his books in a book bag and proceeding to the exit. I followed him out and we made our way to Gym class. The teacher will probably yell at us for being late but I really don't give a damn. I seriously don't.

---

We arrived at Gym class and found we had to do athletics. Everyone had to run around the field and all this crap. Mariku's in our Gym class as well. He kept away from us though, mostly because he had others of his gang in the class to hang around. I couldn't help but smirk when the teacher called them out and forced them to do a 400 metre race.

To my surprise, Malik stepped up and said he'd race too. I saw him shoot a snide look at Mariku and muttered something back. This piqued everyone's interest of course. They went to the starting line and each took their lanes. Malik was in lane one, Mariku in lane eight and as for the others, I didn't care. The teacher got their starting gun and did the classic 'On your marks! Set! Go!' thing.

The gunshot was heard and they began to sprint. Oh yeah, the 400 metre dash is actually a type of sprint race after all. It's just the longest one. Cheers from the class were crazy as Malik, Mariku and his cronies ran. And I watched as Malik sprinted his heart out while the others didn't bother to attempt properly. I saw Mariku pick up the pace suddenly at seeing Malik pass him.

The cheers drowned out my own so I found myself tuning out the noise and focusing on the race itself. Wow, Malik must be a really good runner. He was actually leaving Mariku in the dust. Then Mariku stopped running altogether after passing the 200 metre corner.

People were confused as to why Mariku stopped running but clapped as Malik came around the last corner, way ahead of all the others. As he made a dash down the lane, I understood as he passed us observing students. I saw his facial expression and knew. While the others were amazed at Malik's running ability, I realised it wasn't him being a naturally fast runner. Well, he could be. But his face showed the reasons why he pushed himself to sprint so quickly.

On his face was a look of desperation. It didn't matter whether he beat everyone else so long as he beat Mariku. Malik takes a lot of shit from his brother and I can imagine that Mariku could be to blame for Malik's personality. So he wanted to push himself to the extreme just so he can have a victory.

I think I can relate to that sort of thing. When you have a twin brother, you are always compared to them no matter how similar or different you are to one another. People always say to me, 'Ryou's the sweet twin while you're the sour one' or stupid stuff like that. Malik's probably used to being told that Mariku's the crazy, fun one and that he's the bad-tempered jerk. If I had Mariku for a twin brother, I suppose I'd feel pretty damn inferior too.

Since when did I suddenly get all insightful? I have no idea but as Malik crossed the finish line and the students rushed over to him, I felt I didn't have to be look into things so much for now.

"I told you," Mariku said, approaching me. He must've cut straight across instead of finishing properly. "Malik takes shit but shit is part of what drives him to do better. So long as he continues to do that, I can continue to acknowledge him as my brother."

I smirked at him. "You know he pulls himself together no matter what you do. I swear one day, Malik will end up being the cause of your death or something."

Mariku burst out laughing at this. "And that'll be the day he becomes my favourite." He then looked up and then scooted away from me. Malik jogged over to me and looked ready to collapse from running so hard. I decided to let the Egyptian lean on me for support. Ah, I guess Mariku doesn't want to talk to Malik just yet.

"I'll... I'll do it..!" he spoke while panting. "I feel... determined to..! Tomorrow, I'll find... a way to confess..."

I stared at him, bewildered. "Malik, are you serious?"

"You're not my slave. You don't have to tutor me on things or watch out for me all the time because... I know... I know I can do this. I'll confess and end your servitude!"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**The cake was a lie, bitch. Okay, not really. *hands cake over* But yup, Malik means what he said so he's going to attempt a confession next chapter. The next chapter also has some insight on Malik and the parts of his backstory that concern Ryou and how he came to like Ryou and all that. So fwee. X3 But cuz the chapter will be a Malik centric chapter, he'll get to be the one with a POV for the chapter.**

**So um review and lend your support to Malik! XDDDD I'll shut up now.**


	4. What I Seek

**Fwee, update! I'm sorta nervous about how this chapter will go. I always feel like love confession scenes are hard to write. And yeah, I made Malik be a bit of an angsty character. There's quite a bit of his backstory in this chapter, mostly for the purpose of explaining Malik's relationship with Ryou.**

**In any case, bear with the fact I made Malik quite a frustrated character. He's pretty violent in this fic, rofl. But I kinda felt that it suited him for this fic. And writing his character development shall be fun. X3**

**Thank you very much for your reviews! And now...**

**Read on! ~ X3**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Chapter Four: What I Seek

**Malik's POV**

There were many ways to describe a person like me. Often people picked the foul-tempered description. Or they looked at me and thought of me as a frustrated person. For the longest time, I had never been associated with a positive adjective. Any act of kindness of mine always went unnoticed. Not surprising though. Kind acts weren't something I really did much.

I could be certain about one quality I had. That I was someone who's endured a lot of hardships in life. I know what harsh reality truly meant. I also know what it's like to be the one responsible for the hardships of others.

Mariku does too though he always turns a blind eye to it.

We used to live in Egypt, Mariku and me. Life began unfairly for the two of us and well, Mariku was my influence. I followed in his footsteps; so I learnt that rebelling was a great solution to problems and if I'm pissed off, venting via violence was the answer. Then along came the incident. The events that followed meant that we had to separate from our family and be adopted by a couple in Japan.

The environment in Japan was so much different to the environment in Egypt. The couple were really kind to Mariku and me but we didn't know how to respond. Neither of us was willing to admit to the truth. The truth made me so ashamed of myself.

Why?

Because the incident taught me a word that would stick with me for life.

That word was consequences.

Mariku and I should have known. But no, we were responsible for tearing our family apart in such a way that would scar each member of the family for life.

Scars.

I had many of those. Mariku shared a lot of the same experiences as me, being my twin brother. But... But we were twisted so differently! No matter how kind the adoptive parents – Akiko and Kensuke – were towards us, we rejected that very kindness. For we Ishtar twins only knew how to cause trouble. But like I said, Mariku and I were twisted differently. The incident and consequences that came with it made me suffer. Mariku looked at me and decided that I would shoulder all burdens.

I saw the consequences as punishment for our actions and also the punishment we never received. Mariku burst out laughing and said, "Look, Malik! We can get away with anything we want to!" He could never acknowledge anything properly. Not even his flaws, his faults... He refused to see them. I watched him with so much guilt and regret in my heart.

So Mariku became a troublemaker while I was incredibly hostile. Nobody was allowed to know the real me. Don't get close to me; I will tear you to shreds. I don't think anybody in this world has ever felt pain like I had.

I remember when Mariku called me an emo kid and handed me a craft knife he stole from somewhere. Staring at the blade; how badly was I reminded of the incident. My heart began bleeding once more and holding that knife so securely in my palm... I wanted the knife to rip through my skin and let my burdens come pouring out.

But Mariku had shown me hatred so I decided, 'why should I get beaten around?' and I ran around, searching for a target. I went for a tree and as how Bakura put it, I did indeed, carve out my frustrations. Mariku just laughed at me before leaving me to it. So whenever I was furious at my brother, I found a tree and slashed at it with the knife.

Akiko became concerned for our well-beings and chose to take us to see a counsellor. A shrink! I disliked that idea, it rubbed in the fact we had issues. Like hell I was going to open up to some stranger who would be making judgements of us and noting them down in that stupid notebook they have! Oh yes, that first meeting... I remember smashing up so much in that room and the counsellor trying to calm me down while Mariku's howling laughter accentuated the fury I was dealing out.

Mariku's insane. I'm furious.

So we were sent to boot camp. We found crazy kids much like ourselves and we learned a lot. I remember this one kid who taught me how to fight and he showed me how to push my inner pain to the side.

He understood that my pain wasn't something that would ever go away so he said, "Well, let's find ways to push it aside when required, eh?" I said that it'll be an impossible feat. He called me an idiot and proved me wrong. I said that I was so grateful I could marry him and he told me to "get away, pervert."

That guy never really gave out his name and somehow got known as Akefia. In some ways, I wonder if he was a first love. But before I could really open up to him, he left the boot camp as did Mariku and I. I had no idea what exactly Mariku got from that place but Kensuke said we came back a lot fitter for society.

So I expected for life to pick up and become routinely; we'd go to a local high school, make friends, and do homework and all that. Then Akiko and Kensuke announced that we were going to a boarding school across another end of the country.

Our reactions to that?

Well...

I ended up trashing the study room that night. Books were ripped up and pieces were scattered all over the floor. I smashed a hole in the computer screen and chucked the monitor out the window. The computer desk was tipped on its side and I carved the words 'Fitter for society? You lying bastards' again and again, using my craft knife. I was in so much trouble. But did I care what they thought of my actions? Not one bit.

Mariku was amused by what I did but agreed that I was right in what I did. He said I had a point. Fitter for society? Then why are we being sent away again? Are we really that unbearable to have around? I felt like trash, always being kicked out, taken and dumped somewhere with that hope of being recycled into something better.

Domino Boarding School was where we found ourselves at next. Mariku found his place in the school with ease. He knew every trick in the book to cover up the truth. I searched for an Akefia. But I felt frustrated, for no one was an Akefia to me.

My ways were confusing. I knew that nobody understood what my deal was and that was perfect enough for me. Because of Akefia, my heart had learned how to store my innermost secrets. It worked at first. I could get angry and upset over things but have enough control not to go to the extreme. Mariku and I only know violence as a solution but we know when to stop now. In any case, Mariku made himself appear cool while I didn't feel cool at all. So I kept to myself on purpose.

And that was when I met Ryou.

My memories of that meeting were pretty vivid. It was on that deck on the fifth floor of one of the dormitory blocks. The view was decent and because I was there, nobody else would go. One day, Ryou dared go onto the deck when I was there...

_"Why the hell are you here?" I roared at the meek white-haired boy who dared approach me. I raised my fist threateningly and he backed off a bit. "Backing off isn't good enough!" I snapped, "Get the fuck out of here!"_

_"I... just wanted to sit and write," the boy squeaked, clutching a book close to his chest. Like that's going to change anything._

_"That book will be reduced to a pile of paper scraps if you don't leave!"_

_"I'm sorry, Malik-san!"_

_As the white-haired boy made his leave, I smirked triumphantly. The guy knows my name and yet I don't know his. Funny. He must've been that insignificant._

It was that meeting that brought Ryou to my attention. I mentioned him to Mariku later and he told me that the guy's name is Ryou Touzoku. For some reason, Mariku didn't approve of my behaviour because it wasn't necessary. He said I have the worst temper ever. I was shocked. Why did Mariku snap at me? I can't work him out. After that talk, I slashed at the bark of another tree.

The next day, Ryou approached the deck again while I was there. He saw me and apologised, asking shyly if I wanted him to go away. I rolled my eyes and said I don't give a damn if he stays, so long as he grows a freaking backbone. So he sat on the deck and took out his notebook and began writing in it.

_It's been a week and the weird kid keeps coming here at lunchtimes to write in that stupid book of his. I'd been watching him for a while but I never talked to him. Occasionally he'd speak to me and by the end of the week; he felt he could speak without me snapping at him to be quiet. I had gotten accustomed to him just being there, I guess. I didn't particularly like him but the talk with that damned Mariku remained fresh in my mind whenever this kid was around._

_Sheesh, why would Mariku give a damn about this kid?_

_"...You... do know that I'm in... some of your classes, don't you Malik-san?" Ryou asked, ending the silence. I thought about it and knew it was true, just that he'd never really been brought to my attention._

_"Don't call me Malik-san... It makes me irritated," I replied. Malik-san basically meant he was saying something like Mister Malik to me and well, it didn't sit right with me._

_"...Malik-kun?" the boy tried a new honorific to refer to me with._

_"It'll do," I sighed, crossing my arms. I decided to stop watching the kid write and turned my head back to the view. "Why are you always here, writing in your notebook?"_

_"...Oh! Um, well... It's my diary. I've had this diary for years because it has so many pages and my handwriting is small so I don't take up much space with my entries," Ryou explained, clutching the book to his chest once more. I see. Memories he holds close to his heart. "Normally one would write in their diary at night when the day's events are mostly done but... but I have homework to do and um... letters... to write."_

_"You write home to your family? You screwed up person," I commented with a raised eyebrow._

_"Um... my brother doesn't ever send letters so... someone has to tell them what's going on."_

_"So you write to your mother then?"_

_"My mother and sister... are dead."_

_I sighed. The word death used to bring out my inner feelings but I needed to be calm. "...What killed them?"_

_Ryou hung his head low and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Car crash."_

_"They crash or someone hit them?"_

_"Oka-san was always a careful driver... A drunken man hit them with his car and he was the only survivor of the crash..." Ryou explained with a wavering voice. He looked up at me and I saw that tears were building up in his eyes. Why is it hard for him to talk about this stuff? Parents don't care. Families are a bitch. That's what I'd grown up knowing. Clearly this kid saw different from me. He could cry... for his mother and his sister. "Please, Malik-kun. Don't ask any more questions... It's hard for me to talk about stuff like that."_

_I wonder how that man feels knowing that he was the cause of a person's death. Does he know a pain similar to mine? Has he ever gotten drunk since? Did he ever drive a car again? Has the man received his deserved punishment for his crime? Would he ever go back into society like any other ordinary man ever again?_

_"This man... Can you forgive him?"_

_"I don't want to keep talking about it!"_

_I scowled, bending down and grabbing at Ryou's shirt collar. He was crying but I didn't care. I wanted to know the answer. How did someone victimised from such an incident feel towards the person who was the cause? I've had my own hardships, I've dealt out pain. How desperately I wanted to know if it was possible to... to be forgiven. I didn't care about the man in reality. I was just covering up for my own guilt._

_All this time, being forgiven was something I'd often thought about. That incident with my own family had left people broken up. Mariku and I were such bastards, destroying lives. What we did, I wasn't sure if it was unforgivable or not._

_If a man who caused the death of others can be forgiven then can Mariku and I be forgiven? Of course, Mariku doesn't ever want to face up to the guilt but I know that I had to be forgiven. I had to be forgiven to move on._

_"Tell me the answer to my question, Touzoku!" I yelled right in his face. He didn't answer, which only irritated me even more. I stood up and pulled the sobbing teen to his feet too. Slamming him against the wall, I asked again. "Can you forgive that man?"_

_"...I guess I can..." Ryou mumbled, "He was drunk, he didn't mean to... Even if... his own mistakes became a permanent loss for Bakura and I... and our father."_

_"They were fucking stupid mistakes too; didn't you ever hate that man?" I asked. Ryou then struggled until I released him from my grasp. I rolled my eyes as Ryou ran away. He left his diary behind. Maybe I pried too much. I won't read his diary then. I'll just return it next time I see him._

I was happy with that talk though. Ryou was upset at the time but I felt enlightened. For the first time, I felt like I saw an angel. An angel who forgave. That's how I started to see Ryou. My mind had twisted it into some kind of screwed up attraction.

Looking in the mirror since that talk, I didn't feel so dirty on the inside and I didn't look so ugly on the outside. I was amazed. The thought that the forgiveness of another person could purify me and wash out my hatred, clear me of all wrongs; that thought truly inspired me. Being forgiven meant I could erase the horrible side of me.

So I decided to apologise to Ryou for asking all those personal questions surrounding the death of his family members.

_"Touzoku! Touzoku!" I was usually the first to arrive at the lunchtime spot but Ryou was already there when I came. It had been a week since we talked and I hadn't had the chance to return his diary. Finally I had a chance. Ryou and I were alone together once more. Ryou looked up, surprised at the weirdly cheerful tone in my voice._

_"Malik-kun..." he mumbled as I fished around in my book bag. Then I pulled it out and handed the diary to him. "Oh! My diary! Thank you, Malik-kun..."_

_I beamed at him. It wasn't often that I'd get thanked for anything. My cheeks were going pink but I felt truly happy. I was amazed at how Ryou could thank me and still treat me with kindness even though I was usually horrible to him. It's because Ryou's an angel. That's why._

_"It's nothing, really," I told him. "Did you know that... I'd never apologised to anyone before. When you told me that your parents passed away, I never apologised for what happened. There's a first time for everything, don't you think?"_

_Ryou was staring at me with that surprised expression of his. For the first time, I saw that expression as cute, not annoying. "Um... Oh... You don't have to..."_

_I got to my knees and knelt before him. "I'm sorry for trying to delve into an aspect of your life that is sensitive to you. I asked too much of you and didn't stop when you asked. I'm sorry that I didn't return your diary sooner. I'm sorry that I treated you rudely the first time we met. I'm sorry that I didn't apologise sooner when I should have. I'm sorry that I referred to you as being a screwed up person... If anyone is screwed up, it's me."_

_Apologising's such a different experience for me. I felt like sins were pouring out of me and my weak, vulnerable personality was being exposed to Ryou. Would the angel forgive me and my sin? Please don't turn me away. I'm sorry that this is my test. I needed to know if it was possible for someone to forgive me. Was it possible? Answer me, Ryou._

_"Sit up, Malik-kun. I understand. I forgive you." I sat up immediately at those words and a huge smile spread across my face. This... This could be the happiest thing in my life. I started to shake, trying to contain my emotions. "Malik-kun? Are you okay?"_

_"I'd never... ever... been forgiven for anything!" I confessed. It was the truth. Until now. "Thank you... Touzoku... Touzoku-kun."_

_Ryou smiled warmly at me. A smile that I could love. He made me feel that if I was down; he would embrace me, comfort me and only good would matter. Ryou may not realise the depths of his actions and why they affected me so but it didn't matter. It was possible for someone like me to be forgiven for all wrongs._

_I didn't have to hate myself so much. If there was at least one person who knew about the different sides to me and still liked me despite my flaws, I felt that maybe it would be enough. Enough for me to be able to continue living this life._

_"Malik-kun, you don't have to thank me. I'm in awe of you. It took guts to own up to the things you did. In fact, it makes me want to move on too," he replied with words that made me want to cry. I really like you, Ryou. I believe that if I am with you, someday I'll be forgiven for everything wrong about me. Ryou held up his diary towards me. "I shall part ways with this diary and stick to the letters. Next time you're frustrated, please tear up the pages. Tear them up and scatter those pages."_

_What? Why would he want me to rip apart his diary? All his beloved memories, good and bad, they are in this diary. Wouldn't he want to look back at them? I didn't understand but I couldn't say no to the request. I just couldn't._

_"Gotcha."_

I remember the day where I tore up that diary. It was English and the teacher was pissing me off. He kept picking on me for any misstep and he was getting on my nerves. Ryou and Mariku were in that class. I stood up and kicked my desk to the side. Then I dashed towards the teacher and beat him down. He ordered students to keep me back and so Mariku sighed, preparing himself to restrain me.

That was when I rushed to my book bag and took out Ryou's diary. I heard the Touzoku gasp and Mariku yell out, asking why I had Ryou's diary. Then everyone in the classroom watched as I ripped out pages, tearing them to shreds, crumpling them up and scattering them on the floor.

_"Don't get close to me; I will tear you to shreds!"_

Those were the words I yelled. And once the showering of white fell like a blanket of snow to the ground, nobody dared come near me. I turned to Ryou and he smiled at me. I don't know why he smiled but that smile made me feel like things were okay. That was what I loved the most about Ryou. He knew of my ways and he continued to treat me kindly despite my flaws.

I had to tell Ryou how I felt someday.

---

The next few classes were Drama and History. I know that lately, I've been getting nervous around Ryou. It's not like I don't know why. It's uncontrollable though. I feel it's because the time is coming soon. The time when I tell him how I feel.

Bakura doesn't know the history I have with Ryou. He probably thinks I have no chance. But Ryou and I, we have history.

Even though I avoided talking with Ryou, I felt I couldn't talk to him until tomorrow. I wanted to word everything right. I wanted to do something right. I didn't want to screw up for once. I didn't want to trip up. I didn't want to cause some fiasco. I wanted to confess and be accepted with open arms.

I didn't doubt Ryou. He was the type of person to accept anyone. No, he still is. I'm sure of that. I can't have doubts.

I mustn't.

---

"Malik..." Bakura mumbled suddenly in amongst the darkness. It was light out for the night and we were trying to sleep. Or at least I was. Gah, what did that idiot want? I'm trying to sort out my plan for tomorrow and he thinks he can interrupt my thought train?! Hn. I suppose I'll let him speak.

"What is it, idiot?"

"I figured that the story between you and Ryou was deeper. What is the deal with you two?" Ah, I knew he'd ask sooner or later. Bakura's an odd guy. He doesn't let you go to him with open arms but he doesn't reject you either. He's no angel the way Ryou is. But he's perceptive and tries to understand without pushing his limits.

And he likes Mariku! I still don't get that. Perhaps I met Bakura so that I'd remember that Mariku needed a place in this world too. He's an arsehole and he let me suffer, he didn't understand why I was down all the time... But that's because he can't face the truth the way I did. He still has a long way to go.

Bakura... He reminds me of Akefia. Someone not content with the way things are. And he watches out for me the way Akefia did. Yes. So long as Bakura is around to support me, confessing to Ryou is no big deal. It's an easy hurdle.

"Oi, Malik! Why do you like Ryou so much?"

"My hardships are my hardships, I told you! So for now, I'll just answer your question with: he has a nice smile!"

"You weirdo."

Sorry Bakura, I don't feel like telling you the secrets of Malik Ishtar. Not tonight. Maybe in the near future. Or the far future. I don't know which.

Near.

Far.

Someday.

---

Snap, my heart's beating so fast this morning. I feel like my forehead is sweating too much. This morning, I thought I was going to leap on top of Bakura and give him a hearty morning greeting but the nerves are hitting me. I can't have that. Gah!

So I decided to mess up Bakura's side of the wardrobe as a way to vent. He woke up irritated. So we bickered and I hoped that would take away my nerves. But it wasn't working! "I need to smash something!" I shouted as Bakura did a facepalm.

"Look, you don't have to confess today if you're not ready..." the idiot roommate of mine muttered. I seriously don't need to hear that! I scowled at him and he backed off a bit just in case. "Okay, okay! So you're nervous! That's understandable! Have you worked out how you're going to confess?"

"Um... before classes begin?" I replied weakly.

He sighed. "You need to work out what you're going to say. Get dressed and go get breakfast. I'll tidy up the clothes pile you've made. Seriously, I'm going to have to know what's going through your head because well... you're screwed up."

I smirked at him, holding up a fist. "Just keep talking, bitch."

"I'm glad you like listening to my sexy voice too," he responded sarcastically. I chuckled at him. Five minutes later, I was in my uniform and I went to go get some breakfast. I decided to ignore the stares of students who remembered breakfast yesterday. Heck, I even let out a laugh when I saw the chair I'd thrown around lying on the table where Mariku and some others were sitting.

He beckoned me over and grinned at me. "Some jock came up to me five minutes ago and wanted me to ask you if you were interested in joining the track team," he told me. We both had evil grins, both knowing what my answer would be. Mariku pisses me off but we can get along when we're too lazy to hold a grudge against one another. "I suppose that guy will know hell for a while?"

I nodded. "That sounds about right." Mariku's eyes lit up suddenly and I knew instantly what that meant. No nerves, Malik. Act normal! I turned around with a small smile on my face. "Morning, Touzoku-kun!"

Ryou was walking over to us, his white hair flowing as he took each step closer to us. He still seems like an angel in my eyes. I felt so cheesy, constantly thinking that but I didn't know how else to put it. "Good morning, Malik-kun, Mariku-kun. How are you two this morning? I'm relieved to see that it appears that you're getting along again."

"Until the next smash-up!" Mariku responded cheerfully. Ironic but true.

"I'm good, and you?" I replied politely. I felt my cheeks were already beginning to blush pink. Gah, I need to say it. Go on, Malik! Say it, say it! "Touzoku-kun, can we talk? Just you and me?" I did it! Well, not fully. I still have the confession itself but it's another step in progress at least.

"Now? That's fine by me. I'm all yours," he replied. I love the wording he chose. It's a good confidence booster.

---

"So Malik-kun, what did you want to talk about?" Ryou asked, sitting down on a bench. We were at one of the many gardens around the school. This one was small and deserted, except for Ryou and me of course. It was calm. I would've preferred the fifth floor with the deck but I didn't want to force Ryou to walk far just because I wanted the picture perfect setting.

"Touzoku-kun, when I first met you, I had no idea people like you existed. Sometimes I can't believe I was almost going to turn you away everytime you came to me. I'm so relieved that something in my heart told me to let you stay and scribble down things in that diary of yours..." I began, pacing around. My eyes had a far-off gaze. I wanted to build myself up to the point. "I liked to watch you write. It brought a sense of calm. The calamity of my heart felt it could be at ease because you let me be myself. I was horrible to you and you kept coming back to see me. I didn't understand but I wanted to thank you. Touzoku-kun, thank you so much."

I approached him and sat down on the bench beside him. My lavender eyes met his chocolate brown orbs and I tried to read his expression. His cheeks were blushing a rosy pink. These aren't rejecting eyes. They aren't. My hands reached out and took his, causing him to go even redder.

"On that day, when I apologised and you forgave me, that meant the whole world to me. I can't thank you enough for healing so many wounds in my heart..." I continued, feeling a gentle breeze blowing our hair about. I felt strands of Ryou's hair stroke my face, a sensation I didn't mind. My own flaxen blonde bangs were getting out of my eyes, which I closed to prepare myself for the next words. "I don't know how else to say it. I enjoy your company. I feel good around you. For you to accept someone like me is an impressive feat. Touzoku-kun... No... Ryou. Ryou Touzoku, I..." My grip on his hands tightened.

"Hang on, Malik-kun," Ryou interrupted suddenly. My eyelids flew open and I wanted to curse. He killed my flow. I almost said it. I was about to say it! Now I have to find another way to get it across.

"Y-y-yes?" I stammered.

"Do I really mean so much to you?"

My face went hot. Okay, I'll work with this. "Yeah, you do."

His face lit up happily. "I'm so glad! I was worried that you didn't like me because you never once referred to me as a friend or anything! But I always figured it was because you weren't very open with your feelings. I always wished to be friends with both you and Mariku-kun!" I grinned at this.

"A-actually... I'll be honest..." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "I wanted more than friendship. You seem so perfect to me. I... Well... To put it simply, I love you."

I said it. I finally expressed my feelings. I sat and waited for his response. His response will seal the deal, I'm sure. For the longest time, I've wanted someone to wash my bad side away and forgive me. I could move on from my past and start anew.

With Ryou by my side.

His hands released themselves from my grip and I heard him standing up. I opened my eyes once more and saw that he had indeed stood up. His head was facing the sky and seemed to be mulling over what I'd just said. I brought my own hands together and sat there, shaking. My nerves were kicking in once more.

"Malik-kun... I get the feeling you hadn't had anyone treat you kindly often. But I am not strong enough for you to lean on for support."

I froze, unable to reply. This isn't how I imagined Ryou responding! I don't understand. Why is he responding like this?

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out suddenly. "I said too much, didn't I? I mean uh, you didn't hear me correctly! I love your uh... cooking! Wait, not cooking! That didn't come out right either!" I struggled with my words. That didn't stop the fact that something I'd believed in was being denied. Denied entirely. I thought Ryou would spread his arms wide and I would run to him and he'd hold me tight.

"I heard you correctly. But I think it would be better for us to just be friends... I'm sorry!" And with nothing left to say, he left. I stared after him as he left, hardly reacting.

Wrong. What I believed in was wrong. Why did I rely so heavily on this? I wish I took into consideration that things may not always go right. But this was Ryou I was confessing to! Ryou! Ryou... You had done so much for me. Maybe you reached your limit of what you could do.

I stood up and pondered what to do. Where is my back-up plan?

"Are you going to cry?" I leaped up in surprise and saw that the one who just entered the scene was Bakura.

"Eh? Eh? Wait, what are you doing here?" I asked as he walked closer to me. Seriously, what the hell? Did he listen in? "I'll kill you if you heard everything!"

"Mariku told me you and Ryou went somewhere and so I decided to take a walk. Then I came and heard... But never mind that," he said, taking his hands out of his pockets. I swear the guy was only standing a metre away from me. He should know that listening in warrants him a huge punishment. "What are you going to do?"

I expected myself to punch him right then and there. I truly did. But I found myself placing my head against his shoulder, resting it there. No idea why. He didn't flinch at all. Bakura's shoulder felt warm... Almost... comforting...

"Bakura, I have many regrets. You want to know why I first liked Touzoku-kun? Because he was the first person to forgive me."

Not once did I look up. I didn't want to see the ashamed look in his eyes as he thinks, 'That's the reason? Gee, he's more screwed up in the head than I originally thought!' Most people would think that, wouldn't they?

"So that probably made him incredibly appealing in your eyes... You weren't looking for love; you were looking for forgiveness, weren't you?" I would never admit it out loud but... I think that's the truth. That incident that I've never spoken about destroyed so much. I hated myself to the core for what Mariku and I did. "But I don't think Ryou has anything to do with what you're seeking forgiveness for. It's alright though. Whatever you did, I don't know but just because he was convenient doesn't mean that he could be the one to forgive."

"I can't ever see the people I truly want forgiveness from..! One of them, never again! The other two, I don't know where to find them. I just... I just..." I stopped speaking suddenly. I felt arms wrap themselves around me and hold me tight. Ah... "I'm not sure what to do."

"You know what happened to my mother and sister, don't you? They died in a car crash. I want to apologise to them for making them get in that car and make the trip from which they'd never return alive. Mother cooked dinner and I bitched about how there was no meat. I complained and complained so she grabbed Amane and got in the car. It was the last time I ever saw either of them... Even now, I can't help thinking every once in a while, why the fuck couldn't I just get over it? And I wanted to apologise to them but well... I can't..."

Why is it that whenever I'm down, Bakura can always relate to me? Does he have all these stories at the ready for when someone needs them? He doesn't try to make you feel good with positive words. He just ensures you that you aren't lonely.

The Touzoku twins... Each of them are amazing individuals, they really are.

"How does never being able to apologise make you feel?"

"If I think hard enough, I picture them assuring me that they forgive me for my actions."

I see... He has to do that. Otherwise he'll have the constant guilt. He has to pretend that he's been forgiven. That's why he feels he has the right to get more in life. Why he wants thrills. He feels it is okay for him to enjoy life without shouldering so much guilt.

"Well, I suppose I still have my end of the deal for now. One Bakura and Mariku match coming right up!" I told him with a grin. Bakura let go of me and backed a couple of steps from me with a shocked expression. "Hey, I know things didn't go so well for me but I'll use everything I've got to make sure things work out for you and Mariku!"

"What about Ryou?"

"...I want to continue liking him for a bit longer," I admitted with a sad sigh. "But don't worry about me. I'm sure I'm not the only screw-up."

"But-"

"I'm hungry as!" I talked over the top of him. I don't want Bakura having to stress out with whatever mess I get myself into.

Bakura glared at me. "It's not often I show concern, damn it. You should be grateful, you bitch."

I kicked my knee into his stomach in retaliation. As he clutched at his stomach in pain, I burst out laughing. "Wanna run that by me again? Honestly, the way our relationship is, I'd say I'm the seme and you're the uke! You put up with the stuff I make you do!"

"Idiot, you're using terms that refer to positions in the bedroom!"

"We share bedrooms, it applies!"

"You're missing the point!"

I slapped his shoulder and smirked at him. "I said I'm hungry, idiot!"

"Shouldn't you be in a bad mood?"

"I am in a bad mood! Here I am, making clear signals that we should go get breakfast and here you are, complaining about positions in the bedroom!"

"You were the one who first brought it up!"

---

We arrived at the cafeteria and Ryou was nowhere to be seen. Bakura mumbled something to me but I didn't quite catch it. Mariku saw my expression and understood that he better not bring up Ryou in discussion. Even though Mariku and I don't really get along, we have that twin connection. He knows that I like Ryou and he knows that I tried to confess and it didn't go down well. He also knows what I sought for when crushing on Ryou.

It didn't stop him from having those eyes that told me that he's got news. So after Bakura and I got trays with breakfast on them, we joined Mariku at his table. He then proceeded to tell us the news.

"Some teacher approached me and said that I'll be getting a new roommate because my room is one of the only rooms that can fit a third person!"

Bakura bit his lip before inquiring, "Is there a new transfer student coming soon then?"

Mariku chuckled. "Bakura, you brainy arsehole. The transfer student is the son of a family friend of ours. He'll seduce like, everyone! He's a male model after all." My jaw dropped. Fuck, you got to be kidding me. I have a bad feeling about this. I'm going to carve up a new tree later on today, aren't I? My twin brother's eyes flashed and he added with a snicker, "Yes Malik, I am indeed referring to Ryuuji Otogi."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**Hn, the whole time while writing this chapter, I kept thinking that I had quite a bit of a KyoKagura (Fruits Basket) take on this. Or at least the aspect of 'if I can like you and you like me, the ugly side of my personality will go away'. I guess that was something I was aiming for. Because Malik's backstory is pretty harsh as he is aware that bad things has happened to him, he is the cause of bad things too and so on. If you noticed how he mentioned an 'incident' frequently and how it then caused a spiral of events to happen such as being separated from others of his family, etc... Well, that'll be explained in later chapters.**

**And the reasoning behind Ryou's rejection will be found out in time. But yes, with Mariku's announcement, yush! The final character of the main five for this fic is going to arrive! 8D Otogi-kun. He's sexyyyyyyy. *shot* So he'll bop up and stir things up even more.**

**Oh yeah, next chapter will have things return to Bakura's POV once more. Trying to write this chapter from Bakura's POV would've been tricky and for Malik's backstory to bop up and bop up logically... Hurrrr, I think just taking it from Malik's POV is a heap easier. XDD**

**Eh, enough ramble. Whatcha think of the chapter? :3**

**I'ma update 'Bloody Brilliant' next. Cuz that fic's starting to get somwhere. 8D It's kinda funny, I like plonking Malik and Bakura as main characters. That fic is mostly Malik's perspective while this one is mostly Bakura's perspective. Lulz.**

**I thought I said enough ramble, Mel. :o**

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


	5. Damn The Ishtar's

**Oh hey, I got around to updating. Sorry it was slower and I'm uber sorry for not replying enough to reviews so from this chapter forth, I'll respond to all the reviews I can! School life is hardcore busy but at the end of this week, it'll be holidays for me again! That means some more updates for starters, which should be fun. I finished the Toradora anime and considering this anime inspired this fic, I'll say I've been pretty damn inspired. So the way things will be coming together shall be fun - and the main five will all get spotlight, yay! X3**

**I noticed a theme throughout Toradora was that a lot of the characters aren't very upfront and able to be themselves and there's a lot of fronts. It's pretty damn convenient too as I think Malik, Bakura, Mariku, Ryou and Otogi are all not very honest types so watching each come out of their shell in thsi fic shall be fun to write - I've specially got plenty of plans for Mariku, mwahaha. 3**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter! XD**

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Chapter Five: Damn the Ishtar's

**Bakura's POV**

There was something about the morning events that really showed a different side of Malik. Being rejected and now finding out that Ryuuji Otogi is transferring to our school that brought out a negative side of Malik's personality. I thought he'd be irritated and snappy for the rest of the day but I found that instead, he just wouldn't talk to anyone. Even when Mariku and I tried to crack jokes in an attempt to cheer him up – Mariku knows some really brilliant jokes I'll admit but I reckon I had the best ones – but our attempts were in vain.

Or more, Malik wasn't in the joking mood and just cast his eyes towards the ground, ignoring our roars of laughter. I almost forgot that Malik was even around. Almost.

Regardless of Malik's pessimistic mood, I managed to have a decent day. I tried to get a discussion going but after a while, I decided to just leave him. Sure, I could say all I want but he wanted to be left alone and I was more than happy to leave him alone. Also Mariku said that everything's probably finally sunk in and he needs some time to deal with that. He said that Malik has dealt with a lot of things in life by himself so I thought, 'Okay, let him angst for the day.'

Later on back at the dormitory room, he finally regained his voice – Malik, I mean – and he had a good ramble at me. Didn't listen to a single thing he said because I tuned out by reading a book on purpose. But then he snatched the book off me and I reluctantly began to listen to him once more.

"And so Mariku told me that he and I have been given permission to meet Otogi-baka for lunch on the weekend and that if I want, I can take someone along. He was thinking of dragging Touzoku-kun to meet him too but considering what's happened, he said he'll not invite Touzoku-kun and so if I want, I can drag someone along!"

"So who are you thinking of dragging along?" He glared at me as if I asked the dumbest question in the world with the most obvious answer ever. Oh, I see. "What if I don't want to come?"

"What if I hit you into next week?"

"Next week means I can't come then. If you hit me there, that is."

"Idiot."

"I was kinda thinking that the idiot here is you."

"You're one of the few who can put up with me! I'm going to be a bitch to Otogi-baka as always so you may as well come watch."

"Or while you be a bitch to this Ryuuji Otogi person, I could sneak off somewhere with Mariku?"

"I swear you're like a cat in heat." Malik reached out and grabbed strands of my hair, which stuck out wildly. "See, these are like cat ears. Shall I start calling you Kitty?"

I rolled my eyes and swatted his hands away. "Fine, fine. I'll go. What's the deal with him anyway?"

Malik snorted, falling back onto his mattress. "Oh, he seems charming at first but... I don't know."

Charming? Well, according to Mariku, Ryuuji Otogi is a male model and that he'll seduce everyone. Maybe that's what's bothering Malik. Perhaps he thinks that this model guy will make a move on Ryou. Like I'd let him. Malik forgets that I actually do give a damn for my brother and do have plenty of say as to who my brother dates. Speaking of which, am I actually okay with the fact Malik has a thing for my brother? Or more, is it really just that because Malik will hate on me if I don't approve, therefore I must approve?

Hn.

I can kind of see the character that is Ryuuji Otogi in my mind. Has the looks, has the charm, lack of brains due to that male model factor and I'm being stereotypical but he leads a life many guys would envy. Well, I don't care so much about the model aspect but I bet this guy is rich and gets a lot of things he wants in life with ease. Plus Mariku says he's friends with him so Otogi must have a dark side. A common character archetype I've seen in my novels is the two-faced type who seems decent at first but then you realise that underneath the looks and the flattery and everything there is an ugly demon of a person.

Malik would definitely dislike a person like that. Seeing as he's quite upfront about being a frustrated teen, guys like Otogi who lead an easy life with everything served to them on a silver platter would be rather irritating. Of course, Mariku probably looks at it and thinks, 'Sweet! He can buy me awesome stuff!' That's probably why they're friends.

"In any case, sure. I'll meet him," I told my flaxen blonde roommate, who was currently staring at the ceiling.

"I'll let you find out what he's like for yourself. There are many different opinions of the guy so yours may differ greatly from mine," Malik replied with a yawn. "Think of it as a test, I suppose."

"A test?"

"I hope you pass it with flying colours because I'd be a very disappointed slave master if you didn't."

"What you mean is: if I agree with your opinion, then I pass?"

"...If you think that's what it takes, then sure."

I groaned. Malik's being too vague. Far too vague. I guess he can't be bothered describing someone he doesn't like. Personally, I think Ryuuji Otogi is a decent person – I mean, Mariku thinks he's okay and Malik, well... he doesn't seem to like many people so chances are that Ryuuji Otogi rubbed him the wrong way once and Malik decided to hold a grudge. That's probably it.

Right?

---

We rode in the car in silence. One of the staff was taking us and explained how Ryuuji Otogi requested some company for the weekend while he waits for the dormitory room to be rearranged so he could move into the same room as Mariku and Ryou. Malik was looking grouchy and I was the only person who gave a damn that we lasted our first week back at school. Mariku was fast asleep and leaned against me while he snored loudly, something I didn't really mind.

The car drove out of the countryside and away from Domino Boarding School and got more into Domino City. It pulled up beside an expensive looking cafe and a limousine was waiting there too.

"Ishtar Mariku, wake up! As for everyone else, we've arrived at our destination," the driver announced. Mariku's eyes flew right open and he began talking right away. Geez, light sleeper, methinks.

"Now Bakura and Malik, you have to be on your best behaviour to make up for Otogi and I being likely to ignore the rules. So Malik, that means no smashing up the restaurant, mkay?" Mariku instructed us while Malik rolled his eyes, grumbling something that I didn't quite hear. The driver raised an eyebrow and then said they'll be sitting in the restaurant too but at a different table and that we're very lucky to be let out of school.

I swung my bag over my shoulders and remembered how Ryou rammed all these magazines into it whilst he insisted that I take them along. Flicking through, I realised they were magazines that Otogi modelled for. I also wanted to ask Ryou why he had a ton of men's fashion magazines. And I wanted to know why even though he had those magazines, his idea of fashion still sucks.

So Ryuuji Otogi... I don't know what to think. Girls would definitely be dazzled by a guy like him. I like his emerald eyes. They seemed to be his most notable feature. But yeah, with his long black hair in a ponytail, his lean figure and whatnot, he definitely looks like a model. And now I'm about to meet him. Hn, can't say I've ever met anyone famous before. Speaking of which, how famous is he anyway?

We all stepped out of the car and Mariku let out an "Oh!" noise and he dashed straight into the restaurant with Malik and I trailing behind him. Inside, I could immediately tell by the layout that it was an all-you-can-eat buffet style restaurant that mostly went for Asian style meals.

"Stop ogling the restaurant and look," Malik hissed, tugging on my sleeve. Mariku came back to us with a teenager that was taller than all three of us at his side. Immediately I knew that it was Ryuuji Otogi. Looking around the restaurant, I could see many females looking at him with adoration in their eyes. In a way, I felt myself going red at the fact that Ryuuji Otogi was standing before me.

I guess it's the effect known as being dazzled.

"Otogi, while you've been fucking around the country, I made some buddies! The kid I've mentioned to you – Ryou – yeah, he couldn't be here today so I brought his twin instead! And I brought the favourite of the family too, who'd forget Malik?" Mariku said with a cheerful tone. Otogi made eye contact with me and smiled. Then he turned to Malik and gave him a quick hug. Malik looked like he wanted to die right then and there.

"It's great to see you looking well, Malik-san. And um," Otogi averted his eyes back to me; "you're not Ryou-kun? Oh my, Mariku-kun has shown me school photos and well, if he didn't tell me you weren't Ryou-kun, I certainly would've called you by that! You look so similar. So um, Touzoku-kun?"

"The name's Bakura Touzoku," I introduced myself. Hm, Otogi seems decent so far. Doesn't seem to have much of a backbone.

"Wow, I always seem to meet so many twins! If Ryou-kun did manage to come along, then I would've been seeing double the amount of double! Bakura-kun and Ryou-kun do look very alike compared to Malik-san and Mariku-kun!"

Malik pretended to stumble and 'accidentally' bashed right into Otogi, sending the raven-haired model to the ground. "Sorry, dumbarses tend to have that affect on me. Can we get a table?" Mariku chuckled at this while I was the only one to bother helping Otogi up.

"Ah, thanks Bakura-kun!" Otogi wisely chose to ignore Malik's comments. Mariku dragged us to a table and it was seated so I was beside Malik and Mariku was next to Otogi. We were served some tea to begin with. "I'm sorry, Bakura-kun. You went to the trouble of telling me your name but I never properly introduced myself. My name is-"

"Ryuuji Otogi," I finished for him, pulling out a magazine from my bag, which had him on the cover. "Ryou handed me a ton of magazines like these when he heard I was going to meet you."

Ryou told me it was a necessity to find a moment where I can grab out the magazines and make it seem like I was in the know. Eh, I don't really give a crap for magazines or modern trends or well known celebrities and stuff like that. Ryou likes to pretend that he's in the know when he actually isn't. It was pretty entertaining when he tried to show off his newfound knowledge on Utada Hikaru to my old roommate Yami who drank in everything he said, even though the facts Ryou told him... Well, Yugi then told me later that he got all the facts wrong. Yami doesn't pay attention to celebrities either so it wasn't like he could tell whether what Ryou was saying was true or not.

"Oh!" Otogi took the magazine from me and I could tell he was admiring how he looked. "Damn, if the whole school knows I'm a male model, then I'm screwed. They're all going to think I'm some kind of girly man." Actually, even without that model factor, you just look like a girly man.

"You're friends with Mariku so nobody will bother you, I'm sure," I assured him, taking the opportunity to shoot Mariku a grin to which he responded to with a smirk.

"That's good, that's good! I knew that being friends with Mariku-kun was a blessing in disguise!" Otogi said, clapping his hands together. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Malik rolling his eyes. Otogi stood up and clasped one of my hands with his own. "Hey, let's go serve ourselves some food!" He saw me go red and let go of my hands with a blush. "Ah, aren't you ready? Hey Malik-san and Mariku-kun, shall we all go up?"

"I'd rather rot in Hell," Malik replied with a flat tone. Well, that's lovely to know, Malik.

"I'll stay with my beloved bro, you two feel free to go up!" Mariku jerked his head towards his brother, his words indicating that Otogi and I should go and get our food. I guess he's going to chat to Malik privately.

So I followed Otogi to the huge tables with food laid out with plates and cutlery on one end. He examined the selection and I swore I could hear him grumbling over the selection. I decided to ignore this and choose out my own food. Naturally, I went straight for the meat and found some good beef stir fry along with spring rolls and ramen. It didn't take long before I had filled up two plates full of food as well as having the bowl of ramen.

"Mariku-kun told me how Ryou-kun is always proper with his diet but Bakura-kun seems to like having as much food as possible," Otogi said with an observant tone.

I grinned. "Meat is great!"

"Mariku-kun and Malik-san don't eat meat so I suppose you have enough meat for the both of them?"

"I guess so!"

"By the way, I know Ryou-kun and Mariku-kun are roommates so does that mean you and Malik-san are...?"

"Roommates? Yeah. Don't know him all that well though except that um... he's bad tempered and has a crush on..." I stopped there, realising that I was just about to tell something that I bet Malik wouldn't want Otogi to know.

"I know he likes Ryou-kun. I don't mind that at all. Malik-san is quite hostile towards me because Mariku-kun told me some secrets that I don't think Malik-san wanted me to know. He said I had no right to know stuff like that. I don't know, I think I say things that annoy him too but it's not my intention to irritate him, ya know?"

When I took that all in, I shook my head. "Don't worry; I think a lot of people annoy him without intending to!"

"Oh, don't you know it!" he chuckled, as he served himself a bowl of rice, nothing more. Gee, live a little. Must be one of those models who are picky over their diet. Whatever. "But yes, Mariku-kun, Malik-san and I have known each other for a while. Mariku-kun and I are occasionally partners in crime."

I grinned widely. "Under the model act, you're a freak of nature like Mariku?"

"Freak of nature..?"

"Yeah, in a good way, I mean!" I wasn't sure if there was such thing as being a freak of nature in a good way but who cares! If Otogi's been a partner in crime with Mariku, that means he must've gotten up to real interesting activities! I expect awesome stories out of this guy. "So what's the worst that you've done?"

He thought about it for a moment. I could tell. Otogi was contemplating the situation, wondering how he should respond. Guess it is one of those questions where you have to think about it for a bit.

"Not telling ya!" he eventually responded with a wink. Before I could reply, he made a dash back to our table and sat down. As I had served myself more food, I had to be slower and take more care when I went back to the table. Sitting back down, I saw that Malik was still in a sulky mood while Mariku had that look of 'I tried, failed, what can ya do?' when I locked eyes with him. Geez.

"Hey you two, getting food?" Both of them shook their heads. Freaking hell, does nobody give a shit apart from me that we're at a freaking all-you-can-eat style restaurant with food a trillion times better than what's served at school? Whatever, I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste.

"So Otogi," I talked between mouthfuls, "what led you to our school?"

"Circumstances," he said simply. I stared at him in the hopes of receiving a more elaborate answer. Malik told me not to bother. Otogi saw my disappointment and grinned. "Sorry, Bakura-kun but there are some things you don't share on the very first encounter, don't you think?"

Oh, I don't know. On the day that I first became acquainted with Malik, he read my diary, trashed the room, and expected me to help with matchmaking and many more. But Otogi had a valid point. Being a model and all, he'd probably have to be very secretive about his personal life. I guess we all have things we don't really want to share. It's like Malik said, _"My hardships are my hardships. Your hardships are your hardships. I'll tell you mine if I feel like it and same goes for you."_

Those are words I can agree to.

The four of us kept chatting for another oh, it must've been ten minutes. Mariku kept making jokes and Otogi would laugh and insist that the crazier of the Ishtar twins shouldn't be saying the things he was. Malik kept silent and I decided to crack some jokes myself, which were well-received. Other people at the restaurant kept giving us weird looks but I honestly didn't give a shit for them.

Then Mariku decided to go and get himself some food and excused himself from the table. My plates were empty and Otogi let me eat his rice that he barely had a mouthful of so I felt the need to go and grab more food as well. I turned to Malik and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Oi, I'm going to get more food. You okay with being left with Otogi?"

"Don't care." He said that with a look that told me he obviously minded. I decided that regardless of what he answered, I would go and follow Mariku anyway. So I did.

When I reached the tables with the huge trays and pots of food, Mariku pulled me aside. He yanked me to a place where we could easily observe Otogi and Malik from without either one spotting us. I quizzed him on what was happening and Mariku simply flashed me a grin and asked what I thought of Otogi.

What do I think of him? I don't know. "He seems... decent, I suppose. I didn't think someone like him would be your friend... But I guess you guys have all known each other for years."

"He seems quite innocent yet secretive to you, doesn't he? Everyone thinks he's all innocent and charming and stuff but that's what makes him all the more fun..." Eh, yeah I can see how people get that impression of him. But the last bit of what Mariku said is obviously of significance. He yanked me closer to him. "Watch! Listen! Prepare to be shocked!"

I watched. I listened. I waited for something to happen. Otogi was staring at Malik, who looked down at the table instead.

Then Otogi began to speak. "So are you still a wreck?" Malik didn't answer. I raised an eyebrow. That didn't seem like something Otogi would ask. "Well, I've been doing great! I have many fans already and modelling gets me good money. As for you, you're probably still pining over things that will never happen. Hey Malik, that roommate of yours is weird. What's with the white hair? Old man hair colour never came in fashion. But man, he's a gay boy for sure – did you see the way he looked at me? I swear you're always going to be left alone, aren't you?"

...What? Did I look at Otogi funny? What the hell? I wanted to march right up to Otogi and ask what his deal was but those words alone told me everything. Mariku pinched my cheek and made me face him.

"As you can see... Otogi can be quite the bitch underneath that innocence. Think of the charming bastard personality type, he's kinda like that. He knows how to fake in so many ways that even I'm not sure what his deal is sometimes," Mariku explained, "That's why..." he paused and the two of us looked back over at Otogi and Malik. Otogi was still saying things and Malik was doing his best to ignore him. "That's why I find Otogi interesting."

"I prefer your bastard behaviour to Otogi's bastard behaviour though."

"That's because he insulted you."

"True. Do you think white hair is really old man-ish?"

"Not really. Depends how you pull it off, I guess. Ryou has the same hair colour as you so I doubt you guys bleached it cuz that's not a Ryou-like thing to do but... I guess it suits you fine."

I was really hoping he'd make some cracky comment like how my hair makes me look like a sex god and then begin to run his fingers through my hair. Or more, I expected him to do that. Maybe now's not the right time.

"Malik seems like he's seen through Otogi long ago," I commented.

"He has," Mariku answered with a low voice. "I always felt the two understood something about each other that I can't ever grasp. He thinks Otogi should be more honest too."

"Even though he acts like that?"

"Otogi's... an odd character. I think he just acts that way because of being in the model industry – being all innocent for the people hiring and then bitch about other models later or whatever but I don't mind that he's this way because it's fun."

Wait, you're basically admitting that Otogi isn't honest with you either and yet he's your childhood friend! Shouldn't that mean you and Malik should know what he's really like the best? Still, gotta wonder how long Malik's going to last with Otogi bitching at him. The two of us turned back to listen in on Otogi and Malik's conversation.

"...Hm... I'm really curious to meet that Bakura person's twin – he's my roommate and I'm hoping to be good friends with him and I've heard things about him from Mariku! Say, what terms are you on with uh... Ryou, was it?" Otogi asked with a devious grin.

"None of your business," Malik spoke at last in a low tone with harsh inflections. Otogi was taken aback but wasn't going to stop speaking either.

"Have you confessed to him?"

"None of your business."

"Did he reject you?"

"None of your business." Malik seemed to be getting more irritated.

"Is that why you're grumpy?"

"None of your business!"

"Can't take that he doesn't share your feelings?"

He didn't say anything. He didn't yell at him like I thought he would. No, Malik stood up, drew back a fist and punched him directly in the face. Otogi went back and his chair gave way. He fell to the floor and other guests in the restaurant gasped. Malik stormed out of the restaurant while Mariku chuckled. What the hell Mariku?

Otogi then started yelling out that his nose was bleeding and also over how Malik punched him. Quite frankly Otogi, with the way you were acting, should you even be surprised? You said you say things that tend to rub Malik the wrong way accidentally but I don't think that's the case. Mariku told me to follow Malik while he sorted out Otogi. Wait, I don't want to – ugh, fine. I agreed to go.

So I rushed outside and saw Malik pacing up and down the block, kicking pebbles furiously. He acknowledged my appearance with a nod and I waited for him to sort himself out. I can see why he'd hate Otogi, I guess. It feels like everything happened so quickly.

Like, I met Otogi and he seemed decent, Malik wasn't keen, Mariku was amused... Then I got to chat one-on-one briefly with him and again, he seemed decent. Then the next thing I know Otogi fires off all those comments to Malik and Mariku claims that not many people know Otogi's true character or something along those lines.

What fucking annoying sources to have to base an opinion of the guy from.

"What the fuck is this?"

Malik looked up and glanced at me. He raised an eyebrow. Oh, I just spoke.

I decided to continue.

"It would be much easier if people could just be themselves!" I began to pace up and down alongside Malik. "There are times when being deceitful is fun but there are times when it's just a pain."

"Then go hang out with Mariku and fap to him!" Malik snapped, grabbing my sleeve.

"Fap?!" I scoffed. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Fapura Touzoku."

"Fapura!? Well, you're Malik Faptar!"

"Faptar?! Holy shit!"

"Yeah, you heard me, Faptar."

We stood there for a while, mocking each other like crazy. But seriously? Fapura? And I don't want to go and fap to Mariku! What the hell is that supposed to mean anyway?! We kept throwing insults at each other and occasionally I'd be glancing back into the restaurant to see what was going on.

It seems that Mariku is helping Otogi out with his bloody nose that he got from Malik punching him. I kept looking back in and wondering what the expression on Mariku's face meant. He seemed genuinely concerned somehow. I didn't want him to have that expression. Even though Otogi got hurt, I didn't want Mariku of all people sorting it out.

"You keep looking inside," Malik commented, causing me to stop staring into the restaurant and averting my eyes back to him. "Don't worry about how Mariku and Otogi-baka get along. They get along fine, yes and Mariku claims Otogi is his fuck buddy often but he also claims that Ryou-kun is his future husband but he's just screwing around. Otogi-baka however... I wouldn't trust him at all!"

I groaned. "Is Otogi a flirt or something?"

Malik pouted at me. "He doesn't need to be – with his faked innocence, practically everyone loves him and he barely needs to put much effort into it. Even you got charmed, stupid Fapura!" he snapped; I rolled my eyes at this. We did a round of "Did not"-"Did too"s before he continued, "But I know well enough but Otogi has a habit of getting into troubled waters when it isn't his business. I know it's because he's..." He stopped and considered whether to finish his sentence or not. He sighed. Guess not. "Well, the fact that he could be anything from innocent model to bitchy model to friggin' annoying model – just that alone is going to be a pain!"

Before I could respond, Mariku stepped out of the restaurant and told us weakly that we'll have to get going. Apparently the workers don't want Malik going back inside in case of him causing more trouble for Otogi. So we all got into the car and drove back to our school. Malik spent the whole trip glaring out the window, refusing to talk to either of us.

So Mariku decided to chat to me.

"So... that didn't go down the way I thought it would," he said. I raised an eyebrow.

"Did you want it go down the way you thought it would?" I asked to which he responded with a grin and nothing more. We left it at that. I felt a bit annoyed that that was it. Why wasn't Mariku a little more open to chatting? Malik's silent as ever... Geez, this is irritating me. "Why are you Faptar's so silent anyway?"

Both Ishtar twins stared at me for a second, each with very different expressions. Malik had that look of 'don't talk to me' and Mariku was trying to work out what I'd just said. Then he let out a roar of laughter.

"That's brilliant!" he exclaimed.

The driver sighed. "Get your head out of the gutter, Touzoku."

Mariku jabbed my arm. "Oi, I want to think up stuff like that! Stick my head in your gutter!." I burst out laughing and he took a while to realise what he just implied with his words. Then we both cracked up and behaved like that for the remainder of the journey.

Malik was astonishingly good at ignoring us.

-

When we returned, we had to go back and Malik kept away from me. Big deal, Mariku decided to hang out with me for most of the day. It was pretty brilliant; he told me some of his craziest stories and I told some of mine. For once I felt it, that I am psychotic. Or more, I always knew it but for someone who was off the rails to acknowledge it too just works in my favour.

Perhaps I don't need Malik after all. Yeah, that's right. I don't need his help. I can do without him.

It was shower time and sadly the school isn't keen on putting up enough separators so whenever we go and take a shower, we're stuck seeing each other bare all. For the overly fruity, this isn't a bad thing but I just find it sad. Many men in this world look horrible naked. Thank god some acknowledge this by showering in underwear, even though it isn't very efficient for cleaning.

"Ahaha! Bakura's a naked showerer!" Mariku announced as he got under the blast of shower water next to me.

"Our school's damn cheap."

"I love how when I hop in the shower, everyone looks straight at my cr-"

"Not everyone, Faptar," I cut him off with a sigh. He simply chuckled. We both stood there, wetting our hair and massaging shampoo within it. It was sorta weird seeing Mariku's spikey hair flop down, wet and dripping from the shower. He resembled Malik slightly, with his expression showing his concentration on getting clean. "I thought you were the type to mess around in showers," I commented eventually.

Mariku smirked at me. "I sure hope this discussion leads to something delicious." He shook his head. "Uh, whenever faced with the subject of cleaning myself, uh... an incident taught me to clean well. Malik's the same actually. We just shower well." He bit his lip and averted his eyes back and forth between me and the bottle of conditioner he was gripping tightly in his hand. "I'm... talking normally?"

I nodded. "You are. It's weird."

He went quiet as he switched to conditioning his hair. I was almost done with my shower but I decided to hang around just for Mariku, even though I figured with the speed he was going at, we'd go over the time limit. Oh yeah, showers are supposed to be ten minutes. Of course, this school is guys' only and not everyone showers frequently. I heard at this girls' boarding school that's fairly close to ours has even shorter showers because practically everyone showers every day.

"...Speaking of Malik... I've been meaning to talk to you about him..." I raised an eyebrow and told him to continue. Mariku glared at me. "I thought you knew how to talk Malik down. That's why I sent you to go sort him out! It's all very well to muck around with me – I know, heaps of people can't resist some time with me but I thought you weren't an idiot."

...What? Mariku's strange, I don't get the point he's making at all. I'm Malik's roommate yes, but aren't there other people that could go sort him out? Aren't there? ...No, there isn't, is there?

"Is he seriously out of it? That pussy," I groaned, switching off the shower and wrapping up in a towel. Mariku rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to make Otogi's words true? Ever since that confession to Ryou... I just know things aren't right! He's at a loss and just a little before that, he was acting like he had more purpose and I know that it was triggered from meeting you. You don't have to cradle him to sleep or whatever but at least kick him out of that state."

"Wait, but-"

Mariku took a step out of the shoulder, not caring that he was dripping all over the floor and is letting the shower water run and go to waste. His hand shot out and clutched my shoulder tightly. "Don't be a bitch. Do it," he said with a threatening tone. Shit, why can't you sort out your brother yourself? Why does it have to be me? Sheesh. "Malik doesn't have many friends, let alone people that have a decent understanding of him. He wouldn't want me anywhere near him. Now for fuck's sake, go and bitchslap my brother and let me remain the only guy in the showers man enough to show their-"

"I got it!" I snapped. I grabbed all my belongings and stormed out of the showers section of the dormitory building to go back to my room. When I entered it, Malik was sitting on my bed, reading one of my books. He looked up and went bright red.

"Bloody hell, most people get dressed back in the showers section after taking a shower," he grumbled before returning to the book. I muttered over how he didn't ask permission to read that book but he ignored me, so I decided to throw some clothes one. Once I was finished, he slammed the book shut and chucked it across the room. "Ryou-kun and Yugi approached me today. I learned some interesting things. You know how the student president is Seto Kaiba?"

It is? Huh, a second year for president. Usually, they're third years. At this rate, the next president will be some first year midget. What is this school coming to, geez. I nodded a yes regardless.

"Well," Malik continued, "I found out something ultra shocking. Yugi told a secret he said he never thought he'd end up telling! Yami has some feelings for Kaiba! It's weird and I totally don't understand why anyone would like that Stupid-Egotistical-Totally-Obtuse Kaiba guy but whatever."

"Stupid-Egotistical-Totally-Obtuse... The initials from that are Seto. Huh," I commented on Malik's weird insult. But weird, I was Yami's roommate last year and even I didn't know that. He must be secretive as hell. Oh wait, we're talking Yami here. Yeah, he's mysterious as hell when he wants to be.

"One afternoon I was bored and decided to see what letters in people's names stood for," he explained and he twirled a lock of blonde hair with his fingers as he spoke. "But you weren't special enough to receive one but it probably stands for Bitch-And-Kura-Under-Ryou's Arse..." I won't even comment on that one, but the last three letters were cleverly thought up, I'll admit, for someone doing this off the top of their head. "Anyways, it turns out that Ryou-kun's been invited to join the student council and so Yugi ended up approaching him about this. And Ryou-kun came up with an idea that would require my help."

"Is that so?" I asked with a yawn. He reached to the bedside table, grabbed another book and chucked it at my head then told me to take more interest in the conversation. No, Malik, I'm just feeling irritated that Mariku kicked me out of the showers to come and pep talk you and now you're gossiping about stupid romance drama that I really do not give a crap for.

"If I help Ryou-kun and Yugi, then that'll put me in Ryou-kun's good books again! While I don't understand why Yami and Kaiba would work as a couple, who cares?" I threw the book back at his face.

"Then don't forget about me and Mariku!" I replied, even though those weren't the words I truly wanted to say. Would it have seemed odd to ask Malik if he's trying to sidetrack me from how he's really feeling at the moment? I've never cared about being by myself but I think Malik actually fears being left alone. Would that theory make sense?

I can only imagine how things will be when Otogi actually attends our school.

_"Hello everyone! My name is Ryuuji Otogi. I've taken a break from modelling to study here at Domino Boarding School. I hope we can all get along."_

I'm sure that's exactly what he'll say, with a fake grin plastered on his face. Everyone will like him and see him as someone who can do no wrong. Everyone except me, Mariku and Malik. Only Malik is likely to take action.

And then the world will plunge into sheer hell.

Or something of the sort.

Possibly.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**Would you stick your head in Bakura's gutter? *runs***

**Anyway, yup, we're about to get some Prideshipping into the fic, yay! What plan has Ryou thought up that would require Malik? Finally going to introduce more regular characters aka the Muto twins and Seto Kaiba. The fact that Ryou's on the student council will be significant so keep it in mind especially for future chapters, yay. There'll be background on Ryou and the student council gig eventually too. XD**

**Next chapter will have Otogi finally arrive at the school and it looks like someone may be out to foil Ryou's plan! And Bakura always thought he'd be seme! And Malik makes an unexpected decision!**

**Hopefully my updates will start appearing more quickly again too!**

**Review or whatever? XDD**

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


	6. The Challenge

**Haha, it's about time I updated this. Might note quickly that even though the Thief/Psycho/Angst/Death lovesquare are the main ships, I'd say that Diceshipping is going to be another main one in this. Ohhh... you'll see. ;3**

**I've got exam season lately so updates are a bit slower but I'm feeling fiarly confident that when I get spare time, it'll be dedicated to writing! As I said with my newest fic, I'll be having an update cycle where it goes 'Bloody Brilliant', 'Breaking These Chains', 'A Bad Case of Hopeless' and back to the beginning. As I do enjoy writing all three, I think I could pull that cycle off, haha.**

**Anyway, this chapter contains fail!Malik, observant!Otogi and notdoinganythingwhenheprobablyshould!Bakura! Enjoy!**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Chapter Six: The Challenge

**Bakura's POV**

"Hello everyone! My name is Ryuuji Otogi. I've taken a break from modelling to study here at Domino Boarding School. I hope we can all get along!"

That was Otogi giving his introduction at the front of the classroom. The way things work out can be so cruel. He just had to be placed in our form class. Of course it had to happen like this. Malik's expression was somewhat comical though. He looked set to kill. Yes, Malik. Go get him.

The rest of the guys in my form class leapt into discussion immediately and I was just thankful that the empty seat in the classroom was nowhere near Malik or I. Honda was the first to actually speak out.

"Oh! You're the Ryuuji Otogi for sure! My girlfriend is a fan of yours!" he zigzagged in between desks to get to the front with a piece of paper and pen. "She'd definitely want your autograph!"

Another student put his hand up. "Mine too!"

Jounouchi turned to me as other guys in the class were raving over girlfriends and female relatives who would want his autograph. "Should I bother getting his autograph for my sister? I have no idea whether she'd be a fan of his or not." I rolled my eyes and told him that I don't give a shit for Otogi and his autograph. "Gee, don't need to get so snarky!"

"Then ask someone who cares next time..." I sighed. The teacher finally got all the students to calm down and said that they could get to know Otogi some other time. Hopefully that means Otogi won't have a chance to talk to Malik or I. Speaking of Malik, he said Yugi and Ryou wanted him for some plan that involves matchmaking Yami and Kaiba.

Yami was my roommate last year and I don't remember him mentioning anything about Kaiba. Then again, maybe Yugi is the only person he'd tell. But oh my, Yugi's gone and told Ryou and Malik. Wonder how Yami would feel about that. In a way, I want to ask Yami about this but chances are; he wouldn't know that Ryou and Malik also know and asking Yami could lead to them and Yugi getting in trouble. It would be sort of amusing but at the same time, the outcome probably wouldn't be amusing enough for satisfaction.

"Okay! It's around about time for the student president's assembly, so let's go!" the teacher announced. Oh blast, first one for the term. We all had to line up and Otogi sided up behind Malik and I. I could tell he was going to talk to us but luckily, Jounouchi and Honda got to him first and began rambling on at him about some stuff. It was amusing to see Otogi get irritated by this but still manage to keep up the act.

So we began walking towards the hall where the assemblies are always held. Malik was about to tell me something when the teacher told us to line up with shortest at the front and tallest at the back. So we got separated. Malik ended up being the shortest in our class and was stuck at the front. I thought he'd be annoyed about this but he smirked instead. Ah, maybe it's helping with his plan. Yami ended up being the third shortest. I was closer to the back. Jounouchi, Honda, Otogi and two other guys were taller than me. Luckily, Jounouchi and one of the two guys were between Otogi and I. There was no way I was going to talk to him.

---

Ah, we're in the assembly hall now. All in our class lines, of course. I grinned in amusement when I noticed Mariku was pretty far up his line compared to Malik with his own most likely due to his shit load of big hair. Ryou wasn't anywhere to be seen. Oh yeah, he's on the council now. Perhaps I ought to pay my brother a little more attention.

Oh, the teachers have all gone to the back now. That tends to happen with these assemblies. The more responsible students of the school take charge. We behave fairly decently for a guys-only boarding school, I just realised.

Ryou stepped up onto the stage, which explained where he was. Oh yeah, the vice-president always starts assemblies – wait, Ryou's the vice-president? I never thought he'd have the confidence for that. Nor has he ever mentioned it to me. Student council, sure but... Gee, I wonder if having Mariku as your roommate can turn you from a shrinking violet and into the mother-freaking student vice-president in just over a year.

"Would everyone please be quiet as our student president comes up to the stage?" I suddenly heard Mariku cracking up laughing after Ryou made this statement. Once I realised why he was laughing, I snickered a bit too. Yami seemed a bit annoyed judging from the looks he shot Mariku and me.

Seto made his way down the empty pathway in amongst the class lines. He was striding in such a way as if he knew his power. Bleah, his ego needs a kick if you ask me. I don't really get what Yami could possibly see in such a guy.

He got up on-stage and a smirk plastered itself on his face. "Good morning Domino Boarding School students! There have been events that have already been under some serious planning! Here today, I shall tell you what you can expect in the upcoming weeks! Usually, we'd just send in our school track team to compete in the athletics tournament! However, I am someone who wants the very best – even if it means sending in those who didn't opt to join the track team! I want all of you to compete in a couple of weeks in the Domino Athletics Day where we shall find the very best athletes to send to the tournament! I want this year's team to bring back nothing but gold medals and trophies!"

The school cheered at this. I could see some groaning at the thought of competing in anything. Meh, I guess the day will be spent with Mariku and I pranking everyone, Malik going all gooey over Ryou and Otogi hanging around looking pretty. Of course, each of us would do like one event just to say we participated.

"Fucking hell! Do all of us have to compete?!"

Oh boy, Malik's shooting his mouth off again. Wait a second... I think I remember now...

_"Then don't forget about me and Mariku!"_

_Malik continued twirling strands of hair around his fingers with a grin. "I won't, I won't. By the way, I should probably tell you the plan. That way, you won't stop me."_

_"Ooh, do tell," I responded, feigning a look of interest. Meh, I doubt I'd bother trying to stop the likes of Malik from doing anything. Not wanting to face that temper of his._

_"Well, Ryou-kun and Yugi came up with the plan so don't say anything about it being lame! But they were rambling about how Yami has a sense of honour and will defend those are important to him no matter the circumstances! So they told me to throw a tantrum at Kaiba – they reckon Yami wouldn't approve of me making an attack on him..."_

_I chuckled. "So Yami's going to play the hero? Fuck, that is definitely a plan thought up by Ryou and Yugi."_

_Malik glared. "Don't mock their ideas of what makes a brilliant plan."_

_"You're just saying that because Ryou helped think it up."_

_"So?"_

_"So you wouldn't be saying that if Yugi came up with it."_

_"Hell, I wouldn't be bothering helping if it was only Yugi that requested my help."_

_"Go figure."_

So now Malik is going to make a dick out of himself by going ahead with this plan. Do Ryou and Yugi seriously think that Yami's going to swoop in, kick Malik's butt and have Seto swoon over Yami's heroics? Actually, just the thought of Seto swooning over anyone is a scary thought all on its own.

"Yes," Seto responded rather curtly. "Though I suppose you're going to snap at me about it because you think you're unfit and won't be any good."

Malik stamped his foot on the ground; I could see students backing away from him. I glanced at the back of the hall and the teachers looked pretty unwilling to do anything. Guess all the teachers fear Malik's temper. Bloody hell, the school becomes useless when it comes to the prospect of facing Malik. Whatever, I already agreed to stay out of things. I snuck a glance at Otogi who was only shaking his head in amusement. Eh.

"I'm not unfit, stupid!" Malik snapped. "I just think it's dumb that you're making everyone compete when the track team will just win everything anyways!"

"I'm content with that," Seto replied, "I just want Domino Boarding School to be the best school while I lead it." Gee, that's so very Seto. All about the winning, not particularly caring for the methods of getting there.

Ryou looked like he was going to say something but then he didn't. Perhaps he remembered the plan. Man, when's Yami's going to say anything? I can totally see Malik doing some kind of blatant thing to drag Yami into the situ-

"It's all about winning with you! I wonder how anyone can deal with you! Hey Yami-baka, got any ideas?" I think that was when Otogi started chuckling in the background, while Mariku seemed to be incredibly fascinated by Malik's bizarre behaviour. If Malik hadn't told me the plan last night, I'd probably be just as confused as everyone else.

But gee, what a retarded way to drag Yami into all of this.

"I suppose focusing solely on the winning aspect is a bit... uh... what's the word..."

"You're not supposed to be agreeing with me!!" Malik growled, while I slapped my forehead with my hand. Idiot, you have no idea where you're going with this, do you? I'm pretty sure the way it was supposed to happen was a bit too unrealistic considering the people involved.

"Then what am I supposed to be doing?"

"Defending Kaiba's honour, duh! I'm going to kick him straight in the balls; you have to do something about it!"

...Malik, you're freaking hopeless.

Yami probably raised an eyebrow at this – I can't really tell from where I'm standing. "Defending Kaiba's honour? I'm pretty sure he can sort himself out."

Those words took a while to register in Malik's brain. "...Dwah?" So much for making an attack on Seto with Yami rushing in to save the day. Forget the stupid plan itself, that had poor execution. Seto seemed pretty bemused by what was happening. So I suppose apart from wasting the entire school's time, Malik did get the idea of 'Yami being there for Seto' in Seto's head. Seto's pretty likely to question Yami about Malik's outburst too.

Ryou quickly scooted over to Seto's side and asked if he could have a moment of talking on the microphone. "Um... Malik-kun... Would you like to go and get a drink of water?" Ah, my brother is a smart boy.

Malik of course, was pretty quick to go with something that Ryou said. He dashed out of the hall with a rather indescribable expression. Is it just me or is Malik horrible with executing his plans? Like, the concept has some merit but Malik should never be allowed to carry them out. He needs to have someone who can actually execute plans properly. Like Mariku or me.

"Back to what I was saying..." Seto quickly switched things so people were paying attention to him rather than be puzzled over Malik and his odd ways. I clearly have to make Malik my apprentice in being a bitch. Or something. "The athletics day will be in a couple of weeks so train hard! There's a lot you can get from being able to compete in the tournament! Also, start finding your own ways to acquire lots of money because you don't want to be broke for the school cultural festival coming up later this term! Classes will be competing against one another for the best stalls – not to mention with many students from our sister school Domino Girls Boarding School attending, there'll be the Guys Auction! I personally don't get the point of that myself but there are also prizes for the class whose chosen representative gets the highest bid!"

The students all cheered again. Even though most of us weren't keen to get auctioned off, that auction was always popular with girls, not to mention nothing tempts idiots like the students of the school quite like the concept of prizes! My class has a freaking male model so I guess our class is set to win that auction. Something I'm totally fine with. I like prizes too after all.

"Also," Seto continued, "Start sorting out your class president! It can't be anyone who is already in the student council but otherwise, anyone can go for it!"

"Cool! I will!" Mariku called out. Fuck, all the first years must think that the second year students are all a bunch of messed up people. Still amazed at how the teachers don't do anything when either Mariku or Malik interrupt assembly. They didn't snap at Yami either considering how he was responding to Malik. But if anyone else called out, they'd get a telling off in an instant.

It really shows the sort of power the Ishtar twins have over the school.

"You do that," Seto replied, rolling his eyes. I think Mariku makes an obligatory interruption every assembly. Mostly spouting out useless shit but it's amusing all the same. The thought of Mariku being class president is kinda funny. Class presidents always make the final decision on what their class stalls for the cultural festival. Wonder what kind of crap Mariku would put his class through. "One last thing! Observe your fellow students! Every eight weeks, we'll award a student who has shown to be a great achiever whether it be in academics or sporting achievements! With that, I dismiss you all! Make me and this school proud!"

-

We had English as the first class for the day. The English teacher basically told us to read some random shit from our textbooks and then answer the questions for the activity that goes with it. Malik was still as a statue for the entire lesson with his head to the window. I guess English is his thinky-thought lesson. Nobody seemed willing to question him about earlier. Yugi seemed to be attempting to console him but it was pretty clear that Malik was ignoring him. Eh, Yugi doesn't really know how to approach Malik properly.

"So Bakura... Do you have any ideas on why my dear Malik was acting like a turd?"

Mariku lightens up my day as usual with his bluntness.

"Ryou and Yugi wanted Malik to have a tantrum with the idea that Yami would stop him and impress Kaiba in doing so," I explained as simply as possible.

"That's a Ryou-Yugi team effort, I can tell."

"Malik needed to consider how exactly he was going to attack Kaiba. Then Yami could've actually played hero or whatever," I replied, spinning my pen around in my fingers. "Wonder if Malik even thought about whether the plan would actually work or not."

Otogi prodded my shoulder from behind. Oh yeah, fack. He's in my English class. I barely noticed. "Malik-san was chosen by Ryou-kun and Yugi-kun to be the villain, did you notice? Isn't that rather interesting?"

Mariku grinned. "Trust you to spot things like that!"

I rolled my eyes. "Malik's no villain himself though. He just has a screwed-up personality."

"Last time I checked, good guys don't have screwed-up personalities!" Otogi replied with an obviously faked smile.

"Good guys don't create fake personalities either," I snapped, "I can see right through you." Mariku's interest in the conversation seemed to increase. I could tell by the look in his eyes. Otogi raised an eyebrow.

"What fake personality? I don't like to fake anything," he replied with his usual whimsical tone. Of course, I already know that that tone of his is fake. No use pretending I don't know. He saw my expression and understood. "You're observant, huh? I like observant people. It's more challenging to mess with someone who is not so easily fooled."

"Yeah, that's what I like about Bakura!" Mariku chimed in with a grin. I returned the grin. Hey, who doesn't like being told their good points?

"Why do you seem to buddy up with Malik-san? You're often keeping an eye on him like a watchful guardian, hmmm?" Otogi raised an eyebrow at me, his irritating all-knowing smile attacking my nerves.

I sighed. "Someone has to stop him from screwing up."

Mariku chuckled. "Where were you at the student president assembly then?"

"You're his brother and you didn't do anything either," I growled. Damn, these two are having a go at me, I can tell. Their expressions say it all.

"Dude, I was too busy wanting to crack up while watching it all unfold!" Mariku laughed. I glanced over at Malik, who was shooting us all death glares. Knew I could feel some evil force looking my way. Or perhaps that was Otogi and Mariku. Perhaps all three are conspiring against me. Ugh. Best not to tell them the real reason why I didn't interfere and all. "Hey Otogi, you are right though. Bakura takes care of my Malik and all! Too bad Malik's pining for my Ryou and all!"

Oh... Speaking of which... I guess it's best to confirm things before I get in too deep or something. "Oi Mariku... What is your relationship with my brother anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, he's my fuck buddy."

"You better be kidding or I'm going to throttle you!"

Otogi leaned forwards, his face getting closer to mine. Ick, back off. "Bakura-kuuuun," he began with a cutesy tone that sickened me, "I don't feel like you hang out with Malik-san because of the reason you stated. Actually, you're only doing it for your own benefit, right?" He shifted his eyes in Mariku's direction then shifted them back to me. Oh, I think I know what he's getting at. Wait, this asshole can tell? Holy fuck, he's probably going to tell Mariku the moment I'm out of his sight! "I think you can do so much better, Bakura-kun."

He winked at me and leaned back on his chair again. Mariku's expression was odd. I couldn't really tell whether he understood what was going on or not. Hopefully, he has no clue in hell.

I scowled at Otogi. "What's your definition of 'better'?"

The male model had a glint in his eyes as he placed his finger on my bottom line. I shuddered. Bloody hell. "Well, there's Ryuuji Otogi-"

A tanned hand slapped Otogi's arm away. The two of us looked up and realised that Malik had stormed on over here. Yeah, he looks pretty set to kill. "Bakura's my slave dog! Go find your own! Honda's available!"

The thought of Otogi enslaving Honda seems sorta odd. Yet fitting, in a way. Isn't Honda's so-called girlfriend a fan of Otogi's? How would the girlfriend feel if her boyfriend got enslaved by her idol? Screw that, it's probably one of the best fantasies for a fangirl.

"Aaaaaandddd," Malik continued, "my slave kicks far more arse than your slave does! I'm going to show that stupid Seto Kaiba that a non-track team member can do better than someone who is on the track team! I'm going to get myself into that stupid athletics tournament! You hear that, Bakura?" He averted his attention to me. "We're going to train as much as we possibly can until the athletics day! So long as you beat Honda in everything, then you'll have fulfilled your purpose!"

"I could never make Honda-kun my slave!" Otogi gasped. "That would be a horrible thing for me to do!"

"You're a horrible thing for anyone to do," Malik shot back, "Got a point?"

"Why are we pitting Honda-kun and Bakura-kun against each other anyway?"

"You have a point for once! Right! It'll be Team Malik against Team Otogi-baka!" Malik declared. Ugh, does Malik have a thing for making pointless challenges? Does he want to prove to Seto Kaiba that he has got what it takes to win or does he want to beat Otogi in something or both? Wait, he's including me in Team Malik, isn't he? Fuck, Honda's on the track team for those throwing events like discus, isn't he? If I'm supposed to be up against Honda, do I have to do strength events? How can he expect a skinny dude like me to defeat Honda in a muscle-strength event? Malik's seriously got no clue.

"Malik! Go back to your seat!" the teacher snapped. Malik returned to his seat without protest – that seemed to surprise the teacher, I noted – and simply faced forwards with a devious stare.

He remained like that for the rest of the lesson and pretty much the rest of the day too.

---

At interval and lunchtime, he disappeared altogether and left me with people continuously asking me what's up with Malik. Why does everyone think that I somehow know? Yeah, I know what's with the outburst but I'm no good at reading his behaviour. Though I suppose I ought to be checking on Malik myself. Wouldn't want Mariku firing off at me again or something. No, I'm just making excuses. I just genuinely want to check on him.

Classes have finished for the day and I'm thinking that Malik ought to be in our room doing the essay we've been assigned but of course, turns out he wasn't there. So I was searching about the dormitory block, trying to figure out where I could find him.

Wait... I'm an idiot! He said he'd be training whenever possible! So he must be out on the field training! Why couldn't I have figured that one out sooner? Sheesh.

"Oh! Bakura!" I glanced up and saw Yami walking up the stairs approaching me. "Are you looking for Malik?" I nodded with a frown and explained that he'd run off somewhere. "He went to the field. He's been running laps, practising long jump and high jump, timing himself... everything. If he's trying to get himself into that athletics tournament, I think he can accomplish that."

I grinned. "Well, at least he isn't messing around like this morning."

"Mm..." Yami bit his lip for a moment and his eyes looked to the ground. "When he said that I was supposed to be defending Kaiba, I think I knew what he meant. I get the feeling my twin told some people but there's something he doesn't know... Oh wait, you don't know, do you?" His cheeks went pink and I understood what he was talking about. But I think I'll just pretend I haven't a clue what he's talking about. "Well, you were my roommate last year so I think I can trust you... So the truth is... Me and Kaiba are alrea-"

"Bakura-kuuuun!" an annoyingly familiar voice called my name. I looked up to see Otogi rushing down the staircase. Yami was surprisingly quick to flee – probably a smart decision at that too. When Otogi caught up to me, he noticed my glare. Goddamn him! Yami was going to tell me something really major! Or at least I think he was! He won't ever tell me with the likes of him around! "Ooh, did I interrupt an important conversation?"

"As of a matter of fact... yes..." I growled through gritted teeth. Otogi giggled at this. "Yeah yeah, you know... You don't have to always act like that."

"Like whaaaat?" he asked, putting his arm around me. Fuck, this guy doesn't give a shit for my personal space. He noticed my expression again and sighed. "I know you're not fooled, it's just fun keeping it up when it results with you pulling that scary face of yours! You could give Malik a run for his money!"

"Oh really..?" I rolled my eyes.

"Absolutely!" he nodded. "Say, it is Mariku you like, right?"

"No," I quickly replied. Otogi sighed.

"Deny it all you want, but I know you want to be close to Mariku. Are you even sure yourself what you want from a guy like him?" I shrugged at this question. Otogi decided to continue with his rambling. "You don't know the full Mariku so you can't say you like him entirely or anything. There's plenty you don't know. In fact, I'd be careful about getting close to him if I were you. Or you end up like me or Malik. Knowing your type... I'd say you'd be a Malik. That is, if you get caught in too deep. I wonder about Ryou... He's pretty deluded himself – I've met him so I can say that for certain."

I shoved Otogi away from me and glowered. "What are you getting at?"

Otogi shrugged his shoulders and went back to his whimsical tone as he proceeded to walk down the stairs. "Oh gee, I wonder what I'm getting at..." he responded with a giggle. Oh, for fuck's sake. I may as well try to get some information out of this guy. Considering he was mentioning Mariku here. He grinned when he noticed me following him. "Ah, you are indeed curious. I guess you do feel something from my words... But I meant what I said earlier – you can do so much better than Mariku."

We got off the staircase and started pacing down the hallway, passing dormitory rooms as we went. "You sound like you know something! Quit wasting time and tell me what's going on!"

The dark-haired model stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn to face me; he was content with looking ahead. "I know things you wouldn't have even considered. I'm incredibly observant, you see. Even if I explained everything to you, you wouldn't get it. For now, recognise where you currently stand. Right now, someone is expecting a lot from you and you're not fulfilling their expectations."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're really full of yourself."

"Gee... I wonder who will win... Team Malik or Team Otogi... I wonder..."

For fuck's sake, I am not getting anywhere with this guy. He's toying with me, I know it. I can see why this guy gets on Malik's nerves. "I wonder..." I mimicked Otogi's voice, "I wonder when Otogi-baka will stop being such a fake bastard!"

Otogi turned around; his emerald eyes shining brighter than ever. He took some steps forward and the next thing I knew, he had me pinned to the wall. "What would you do if I showed you my true self? Would you stop your idolisation or your manipulating?" I could feel his breath touching my face; it had a cool, minty scent. Shit... Anybody who sees us is going to... "Would we be on par? Would you even... fall for me?" His grip on my arms is too tight. I can barely move... What's he saying?

I heard someone drop some clothes. We both looked up and Otogi immediately loosened his grip. Did I see this coming or what? Someone was going to walk in on the situation and get completely the wrong idea.

It's just that the one person who had to walk in on us happened to be Malik Ishtar.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**Oh yes, Malik did indeed walk in the two! You'll have to see what he does about it next chapter though! Also, I decided to make Malik rather athletic in this fic. Come on, he has that midriff and all, I'm sure he's quite athletic. Plus determination and guts, yeeeeaaaahhh! Actually, Mariku would probably be a good athlete too, I just don't think he's very interested in the concept of running laps around tracks, haha. XD Poor Bakura, Malik's going to make him do the events he's useless at in a vain attempt to be all, "MY SLAVE IS BETTERU THAN YOUR SLAVE EVEN THOUGH YOUR SLAVE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HE'S YOUR SLAVE." Poor Honda, haha. XDD**

**Er anyway, I ramble. Next chapter: Malik ain't in a good mood but it only fuels his determination! Bakura better step up his game too or face a very dissatisfied Ishtar or two. And Otogi makes quite the interesting discovery! And the sports day arrives!**

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**

**PS. Try finding Toradora soundtrack stuffs. And finding the OP/ED TV size versions on YT. 8D The other day, I watched it and my mind replaced the characters with characters from this fic and it amused me. XD**


	7. Truth

**Hey! This is the last update to any of my fics before I go away on holiday! I am going to Cambodia and Thailand during the time period of 10th December to 23rd December! So during that time, no updates/replies to messages or anything. Perhaps make this your chance to catch up on all my YGO fics *shot*. In any case, I'll bring my handy-dandy- notebook so that I can write during holidays anyway! Shall be fun! X3**

**Anyway, this chapter has no POV and it's quite dialoguey haha. There's more Ryou stuff in this one, which is always fun and Otogi's pretty prominent throughout the chapter, going around finding out about the people around him... And Bakura needs to work things out rofl.**

**Read on!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Truth

Malik stared at the two in disbelief. They stared back. Bakura stared. Otogi stared. Malik stared. Everyone was all staring at one another in the midst of awkward silence.

The Egyptian teenager wasn't quite sure what to make of seeing his hated childhood frenemy pin his roommate – one of the few he can rely on at that too – to the wall as if they were about to make out. Malik's blood began to boil. He clenched his fists. And Bakura knew that if he didn't do or say something quick, there'd be an explosion of Malik fury. Everyone knows by now that Malik fury explosions are dangerous and should be avoided.

"Um, it's not what it looks like!" Bakura could've hit himself for saying that. The excuse he used is way overdone and he knows that Malik knows it too.

Otogi leaned closer with a grin. "Then what does it look like?"

"Get off me, damn it!"

With a sigh, Malik unclenched his fists. 'Sheesh, Kura really lets himself get caught in these situations...' he thought irritably. He paced over and yanked Otogi off the white-haired Touzoku boy. "Fucking hell, Otogi-baka. You're like a cat in heat!" he snapped before picking up the pile of clothes and continuing on his way back to his dormitory room. Once they heard a door slam, Bakura relaxed his shoulders and blew a sigh of relief.

Bakura scowled at Otogi. "He's going to scold me later, thanks to you!" The male model blinked a couple of times then laughed, only serving to piss Bakura off more. "This isn't funny, you know! What the hell were you doing?"

"You weren't trying to push me away, you know!" Otogi pointed out. Bakura backed off a couple of steps. Yes, the damn model had a point but he still shouldn't have it! "But I really don't think what you're doing is right. Poor old Malik-san is trying his best and most of it is all for you! But you're too busy pining after his brother who only finds you interesting if you play his game! All you're doing is taking, receiving..."

"Huh?" Bakura raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand what Otogi was getting at. But what he said about Mariku can't be true! Mariku seemed to genuinely like him, even when he wasn't always being a nutcase with him. There was something he understood though. Malik's been all over the place trying to help others, getting the courage to confess and even offering to help him with Mariku... But what had he done for Malik in return? Was he just going to leave Malik with making fruitless efforts? That wasn't fair. How could Otogi observe something like that?

It's simple. Otogi has known Malik for a very long time. He would know better.

"If you're not going to do anything, then stop Malik with what he's doing. You don't deserve either of the Ishtars'."

"I get it already!" Bakura retorted, and then he took off in the direction of his dormitory room where Malik was. 'Geez,' he thought as he ran, 'I want to win Mariku over, not Malik. Why is it that whenever I take action or do something, it's always for him? Otogi and Mariku both seem to think I have to take care of him! I guess all I've done are the small things, but it's always when I'm told to! Isn't this enough?' He reached the door to his dormitory room and swung it open. Charging inside, he declared, "Malik! Let's train for the sports day together!"

Malik ignored him at first as he was too busy changing to care for his surroundings. Bakura scowled even though he figured that he'd have to deal with the Ishtar behaving like this. He pondered for a moment what would have happened if someone other than Malik walked in on him and Otogi. Like say, Ryou or Mariku. It would've been worse if it was Mariku, Bakura figured.

"Malik, we should train!"

"Already did my training," Malik replied with a bored tone as he took off his shirt and began to fan himself. "Why did you and Otogi-baka get so hot and heavy? The atmosphere is totally not helping me. I dislike sweating." He grabbed his towel, shampoo, soap and hair conditioner. "I'm going to take a shower."

Bakura frowned. "You're being weirdly calm."

"I'm not the one cheating on somebody."

"I'm not with Mariku that way so it's not cheating!"

"Now did I say that somebody was Mariku? Eh, whatever." He headed towards the door and saw as Bakura stood at the doorway, purposely getting in the way. "Get out of the way." Bakura placed his hands on Malik's shoulders, taking the Egyptian off-guard. He leaned backwards and fell to the ground, Bakura falling forwards and landing on top of him. "Whoa!" The two realised the position they were in and began to turn dark shades of red. Bakura quickly scrambled away and threw out apologies. Malik sighed. "Well, you were already with Otogi-baka before. I don't want Otogi-baka's leftovers."

Bakura threw the first thing he could grab at Malik. He watched as a pillow hit the Egyptian straight in the face. "I'm telling you, Otogi was doing his usual trickery! I bet you that right now, he's pinning Ryou to a wall and ravaging his face!" Malik leapt straight to his feet in a panic. "You know, I didn't actually mean that."

Malik glared at his roommate. It wasn't that he didn't believe what Bakura was saying about it all being Otogi, he just didn't like the fact that Bakura wasn't doing enough to fight back either. Quite frankly, he was certain that Bakura was capable of better and he just wasn't showing it. If Bakura was to be his slave dog, he really needed to step up his game.

"So you wanted to train, did you say?" Malik decided to change the subject. He wondered if he was letting Bakura go a bit too easily. But then again, he could just pummel some good training into him and all will be solved. Bakura nodded. "Well, I'm not expecting much but Honda is good at those strength events. Also it helps that because Otogi-baka won't bother to let Honda know he's in some big challenge, we have the upper hand! Because Bakura, you and me, we have teamwork!"

"Where you expect me to do something and there's a one in ten chance that I'll do it," Bakura replied flatly. Malik threw his towel and other belongings to his bed and yanked Bakura to his feet. As Bakura complained about Malik not having a shirt on – though Bakura did note that Malik shirtless had a strange appeal to it – the Egyptian dragged him to the athletics track. He dashed off to grab equipment and returned with a discus, a shot-put and a javelin.

Bakura got worried instantly. He knew how to throw those items but that didn't mean he was great at it. Malik is really expecting him to participate in these events, isn't he?

"Right. We're going to get you to be a pro at these events! You're lucky I'm used to chucking heavy objects fairly far distances!" Malik declared.

"Okay, what heavy object were you throwing and what was the target?"

"I threw a computer chair at Mariku once."

"Shit!"

"I did give him about three warnings before I did so."

"Even so!"

---

Otogi had returned to his own dormitory room where Ryou was writing up a report for the student council and Mariku was lounging around on his bed, drawing up an idea for a new prank to play on his form teacher. So what if he doodled yaoi smut on the blackboard? How dare the teacher oppose this! Ryou ended up lecturing him on why not everyone supports smut only for the white-haired vice president to get told that the doodles should've converted everyone.

"Ryou, have you done your report for the council shit yet?" Mariku asked, getting bored with plotting fast. He finally noticed Otogi return to the room and sat up with a grin. "Ah, perfect! Ryou's too busy to make out, do you want to?"

The dark-haired model stuck his tongue out at his Egyptian roommate. "Already done that with Bakura."

Mariku's eyes widened. He didn't look particularly pleased for a moment but then he suddenly burst out laughing. "That's why you didn't return sooner!"

Ryou looked up from writing his report. "You did what with my brother?"

Otogi grinned at his roommates. "I'm kidding! I did talk to him for a bit but Malik-kun wasn't happy about us hanging out."

"Ah, as expected of my idiot brother!" Mariku responded, lying back on his mattress. He chuckled as the bed made a creaking sound. "But I do wonder about Bakura though. Ryou, why hadn't you talked to me about Bakura much?" Otogi sat down next to him while Ryou pondered the question.

"You hadn't really asked," Ryou replied eventually.

"Yet I ramble about my random shit all the time. You should think more about yourself," Mariku muttered, following it up with a sigh. "I mean, look at you! Doing that stupid report for that stupid school presi- oh, you still like him, don't you?" Otogi's jaw dropped at this. Ryou, liking that Seto Kaiba person? But he was so confident over his abilities to observe... How could he have missed this? Mariku saw Otogi's expression and sighed again. "I'm going to go bug Malik and Bakura for a while. See you bitches later."

And with that, he left the dormitory room, slamming the door behind him. Ryou's cheeks went pink as he finished up his report. He placed the report in a file and sat back on his bed.

"I'm sorry about Mariku-kun behaving like that. He usually keeps his actual feelings about things to the side but is comfortable enough to let slip just a little in front of me..." Ryou told his emerald-eyed roommate who watched him with curiosity.

"Indeed," the male model replied, twirling some hair with his fingers. "He acts crazy so people think he's brutally upfront but as his childhood friend, I know there's more than meets the eye. I want to figure him out too," he admitted. It was true. Of all the people he'd met, Mariku was definitely one of the most interesting to him. The more he thought he understood, the more the truth about Mariku managed to slip away. It frustrated him but it also made investigation more interesting. Another thought returned to him. "Oh yes, you like Seto Kaiba?"

Ryou blushed and shook his head. Then he nodded. "Well, I used to. I came to this school really unconfident and Bakura went off by himself because he doesn't really like interacting more than he has to. Seto Kaiba-san was in my form class and I noticed immediately how confident he was. I didn't get on with Mariku-kun back then even though he was my roommate... So I was meek and well, Kaiba-san was so confident and so I admired him lots. I wanted to be more like him. Mariku-kun learned of this and suddenly he decided to be friendlier to me and well..."

Otogi grinned. "Is he often telling you to think more for yourself?"

The white-haired teenager nodded shyly. "Yeah. Mariku-kun pushed me into talking to Kaiba-san more and eventually Kaiba-san invited me to join the student council with him. He said to me that at this rate, I could become student president! Because I felt more confident in my abilities thanks to Mariku-kun, I went back to thinking about how I had feelings for Kaiba-san. Only Mariku-kun knew. But I realised that I didn't have feelings for Kaiba-san anymore because I no longer admired him in that way... Mariku-kun was still egging me on at that stage though and so I didn't have the heart to tell him to stop because it made me happy that he was supporting me so much."

He gasped, realising that he really was opening up a lot. Otogi's expression was soft. Listening to Ryou spill out what he'd kept to himself intrigued him. It only made Otogi grasp an even better understanding of Ryou's next actions. He stood up and began pacing around the room.

"So you thought that if someone else got together with Seto-san, then Mariku-kun would see the situation as 'oh no, Ryou has no chance now, well that's that then'? So Yugi-kun approaching you about getting Seto-san and Yami-san together and you accepting would make Mariku-kun think 'Ryou doesn't want to be found out and being the pushover guy he is, he'll accept Yugi's request!' But really, you were looking for a chance to cast Seto-san aside for Mariku-kun to see."

Ryou's jaw dropped. "How do you know?" He had another quick thought and decided to correct an aspect of Otogi's explanation. "But um, I knew that Kaiba-san and Yami-kun were together, but because they kept it secret... I just wanted someone to bring it out in the open with everyone hearing it from Kaiba-san and Yami-kun themselves! If I just said that they were going out, Mariku-kun would tell me that it's just a rumour to screw around with me..." He looked up at his roommate once more. "But it's amazing that you can work out this much from knowing some basic aspects of the situation!"

Otogi flicked his hair away from his eyes. "I have my ways."

"Actually, the situation got complicated because I knew Malik-kun was perfect for bringing stuff out in the open and he actually succeeded in doing so. The school got in a buzz over why Malik-kun dragged Yami-kun into his spat between him and Kaiba-san but... I don't want to use him like that. He was made to look the fool and I think Mariku-kun didn't appreciate that..."

"Malik-kun seems willing to go with your plans though! Even though I heard he confessed to you and got rejected..."

Ryou's eyes averted to the ground. "I felt bad because I'm just using him. I'm putting him to the test. I felt like if I could have Malik-kun feel like he could open up to me, then maybe Mariku-kun would too. He always helped me so I wanted to help him. To be honest, I wanted Malik-kun to notice this and get annoyed with me before I get ahead of myself but..."

"Don't get so hung up over the Ishtars." Ryou felt like his heart froze at those words. He stared at Otogi and waited for him to explain what he meant by that.

"What do you mean?" he asked eventually as he was getting nothing else from the model.

Otogi bit his lip. The time when they'll find out the truth about the Ishtars will come eventually, won't it? The way Ryou and Bakura were both getting so friendly with the Ishtar twins – surely they'll learn the truth? Then they would regret getting close. Otogi knew that finding about what made the Ishtar twins the way they were today was something he'd never ever forget. And it would forever daunt on him that they were what their adoptive parents believed them to be.

Monsters.

The time would come when the Touzoku twins would realise that too. What would they do when they realised?

"...Have you ever heard Malik-kun say 'Don't get close to me; I will tear you to shreds'?" Otogi asked. Ryou nodded quickly.

"He's yelled it out a couple of times when destroying the classroom... Especially last year."

"Well..." Otogi headed to the dormitory room door. "He learned that phrase from Mariku-kun long ago! I wonder if he still thinks he can say it..." Without another word, he left the dormitory room and headed up to the top floor balcony. Once there, he looked out over the school and caught a glimpse of Mariku heading over to what looked like Bakura and Malik.

About the new knowledge he'd gained of Ryou... He wondered what he would do with this new information. In all honesty, what Ryou had said irritated him a lot. He liked Ryou and all and knew that while he didn't have bad intentions, he seemed to have led Malik on. Even though Malik was tough despite his circumstances, he was still easily toyed with. It's simple to manipulate another through kindness. Otogi knew all about manipulation. He also knew that the Bakura of before – he too wanted to get closer to Mariku via Malik.

From that, Otogi could tell that the Touzoku twins were different. They had a way with the Ishtars that not many others did. While he admittedly wasn't that nice towards Malik, he still felt it was unfair the way Malik was treated. Even though he said people shouldn't get close to the Ishtars, it was mostly a warning about Mariku. Malik had a lot more in terms of emotional scars so getting close to him meant patience and understanding but Mariku could leave everyone around him physically and emotionally scarred.

"I think I know why the Touzokus are so fascinated by the Ishtars. Bakura likes strange and the Ishtars are strange. Ryou wants to help others and quite frankly, those Ishtars need serious help..." Otogi mumbled to himself with a wry smile. As he sat himself down in a corner on the balcony, he had one more thought cross his mind before he closed his eyes. "Still, the ones to be most wary of are Bakura and Mariku..."

---

The day finally arrived. It was sports day and Domino City Boarding School was more like a ghost town as buses took all the students to an athletics stadium. All the students had each signed up for at least one event. The basic idea was that the top students in their grade in each event would go to the big athletics tournament and also the classes that had the most first-place getters would win.

First off was the speech at the beginning done by Seto Kaiba. Again all the classes were lined up with the students in each class ordered by shortest to tallest. Bakura couldn't help but notice that Malik had shot up in height and was now second shortest in the class. Also he'd trained a lot so he was a lot more toned, most evident in his arms and legs. After Bakura realised that he had been checking Malik of all people out, he decided to examine the rest of his class. Otogi seemed like he'd be fairly fit considering when you're a model, you have to keep in shape. Jounouchi and Honda were decent in Gym class and Yami had a general talent for anything he tried so Bakura felt his class had a decent chance of being the best class of his year.

He knew Mariku was likely to be good at sports but his motivation on whether to participate a lot or not was questionable. In fact, while Seto was giving some speech that was supposed to motivate all the students, Mariku looked like he wanted to go back to bed.

After Seto gave his speech, the classes went into the stands to await calls for their events. It was just Bakura's luck that the first years had the 400 metre race, the third years had long jump while the second years – his year – had shot-put. And Malik had forced him to sign up for that event. Oh and Honda was doing that event too. Fuck.

"Go get one for Team Malik!" Malik cheered loudly. He then pointed at Honda. "Team Otogi-baka is going down!"

Honda raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Oh, you didn't get the memo? You're Otogi-baka's slave."

Honda glanced at Otogi who shrugged. He made the wise decision of not asking. Malik had a way of randomly assigning labels to people. It really was one of things best left a mystery. Bakura shot Honda a sympathetic look as he and a couple other members of his class made their way to the shot-put area.

Otogi suddenly turned to Malik with a serious look in his eyes. "Something just came to mind. I left it aside but I thought 'maybe I really ought to tell Malik-kun after all!' So can we talk in private?"

Malik glared. "No way, Otogi-baka! I was thinking of going down to cheer on Bakura properly!"

"What, you don't want to know the real reason why Ryou-kun rejected you?" Malik stared at Otogi instantly after he said that question. Otogi grinned, knowing he'd definitely got Malik's full attention now. "I wonder why he rejected-"

"Tell me," Malik cut him off, his expression and voice now serious too.

The dark-haired model's lips twisted into a devious smirk. "Well then, follow me and I'll tell you."

---

Joy! Mariku chose to do shot-put! Bakura and Mariku exchanged grins as they then walked side by side to the teacher who was taking care of the shot-put event. "Thank god you're here," Bakura blew a sigh of relief. "Please assure me that Malik won't throw a fit if I don't win. I hate shot-put."

Mariku chuckled. "Ryou signed up to be a cameraman so he doesn't have to participate in any events. Normally I'd do one event and then bunk off but I decided that I would enter every single event because then I have a good chance of getting my photo taken! Then I can appear in the school magazine!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Who gives a shit for that magazine?"

"Careful, Ryou writes for that dumb old magazine!"

"And I care because...?"

"Because he's your brother."

"What a shocking revelation..." Bakura rolled his eyes as he approached the teacher. "I'm Bakura Touzoku; I signed up for shot-put." The teacher ticked his name off on the list. Mariku and all the other entrants gave their name as well. When all the students on the list had been marked as present, the event began using alphabetical order by surname.

Of the students Bakura recognised, he realised that he, Mariku and Honda were the only ones who chose to do shot-put. The rest were students with huge, muscular builds that Bakura knew he'd never interact with in a million years. One of the tallest, most muscular students approached Mariku and Bakura with huge smirks.

"You freaks have no chance at winning this event," he told them with a smug grin.

'Oh, he's one of those egotistical losers who think they're all that. Sounds sorta like Mariku and Otogi only they have more reason to be like that, I guess...' Bakura thought to himself with a frown.

Mariku returned his grin. "Alright! I'll let you win if you promise to stop looking at porn during class. Seriously, seeing you get horny during class is the biggest turn-off of the century."

"Why you!!" the student clenched his fists only for his name to get called out for his turn. With a grunt, he muttered something about letting Mariku off the hook. The student threw the shot-put and unfortunately for Bakura and Mariku, he was good at it and could throw pretty far. Next up was Honda who threw it half a metre ahead of him.

'Ah, good job Honda. But sadly I think that distance is too far for me to aspire to beat...' Bakura thought with a sigh.

Eventually it was Mariku's turn. He stepped into the ring in which the students would throw from, completely confident in his abilities. Bakura knew Mariku was capable of winning this event. He took a shot-put and threw it. Everyone let out a gasp when they saw how far he threw it. It must've been a metre ahead of what was the top student so far!

The teacher sighed. "While that was a great throw, you stepped over the line so it's discounted."

Some of the other students began to crow over this misstep while Mariku shrugged. Bakura sighed. The idiots don't realise that Mariku has two more throws and if he lands another good throw, he's nailed an automatic first place. It got to Bakura's turn at last and he was thankful that the person who went before him did a horrible throw.

He stepped up to the ring and took the shot-put that the teacher handed him. Bakura remembered the positions that Malik taught him when it came to holding the shot-put and then throwing it. He held the shot-put near his neck and bent back and forth to gain momentum. He gained enough momentum and strength to throw quickly and threw the shot-put with all his might. Instead of looking to see how far he threw it, he glanced at his feet and blew a sigh of relief. He hadn't stepped over the line.

Bakura watched as his throw got measured and reported back to the teacher who was marking down the scores. He was careful to remember that he had to exit outside the back of the ring because if he didn't, he'd be disqualified. Doing a quick glance over what the teacher was writing as he passed, he realised that unfortunately, he was the fifth worst of the twenty competitors. And two of those five below him made a misstep.

Mariku patted Bakura on the back sympathetically. "Beanpoles like you shouldn't do muscle events!"

"Shaddap!" Bakura swatted Mariku's hand away. He sighed. "Malik will get pissy if I don't win this. Or at least if I don't beat Honda."

"Well, just beat Honda in a different event. Malik is probably more focused on beating good old Otogi anyway! He probably gave you the challenge of beating Honda as something for you to do," Mariku replied with a grin.

Eventually everybody had each done three throws. Bakura managed to improve by a metre, making him the seventh worst while Mariku constantly threw ridiculously good throws only to find a way to get disqualified each time. Some students wondered if he was doing it on purpose or he really was making silly mistakes. Nobody could really tell.

---

Bakura went back to the stands just as the next event for the second years was announced as well as the results. As usual, the top three competitors from each event go to the tournament. Malik shoved past Bakura before the white-haired teenager could manage a hi. Bakura glanced at Otogi who shrugged.

Seto was on a platform on the field part nearest the stands. He got handed the results and read out the winners of the shot put. "In third for shot-put second years, we have Tetsuo Ishiyama... Second is Hiroto Honda... And in first place we have Kenta Iwata!"

The students in the stands all cheered, especially the classes who had a student place in the top three. Bakura sighed as he sat down in-between Otogi and Yami. Yami smiled slightly while Otogi casually put his arm around Bakura. Bakura couldn't be bothered shoving the male model away – Malik's behaviour concerned him more.

With a sigh, Bakura turned to Otogi. "Did I let Malik down?"

Otogi put a finger to his lips. "Mm... Let's just say that the truth can be worse than lies." He nodded, satisfied with his answer. "Yeah, you could put it like that."

Bakura raised his eyebrows. "Do explain." Otogi shook his head. "Why not?" The model shot a glare at him, snatching his arm away. He got up to his feet and began to take off in the direction that Malik went. "Wait!" Bakura ran after Otogi who stopped partway down the stairs. Otogi then suddenly turned around and scowled up at Bakura.

"Malik and I are going to participate in the long jump event! If you haven't signed up then go away!" Otogi snapped. "Don't bother going to him, not in his current state! I told him the real reason behind Ryou rejecting him and he seems to think that you've been using him too!" Bakura froze, bewildered by Otogi's words. Otogi decided to continue on down the stairs and made his way to the long jump area.

Standing on the staircase from the stands to the ground was Bakura. He couldn't move. 'Using him too?' Bakura thought. 'Has that how Ryou's really been treating him? Does it really look like I just keep Malik around for amusement? So that I can get closer to Mariku? Even though there's truth in that, I still want to be there for Malik too. I'm not used to doing things for other people; I'd shut myself into a closed circle for too long that I don't know how. But how does Otogi know stuff about Ryou that I don't? Had they buddied up or something?'

"Hey Bakura... Are you okay?" Jounouchi asked; the blonde resting a hand on Bakura's shoulder. He shook the white-haired teenager gently to help catch his attention and stared at him with concern. "Otogi seemed out of it there. Did he say something to you?"

Bakura turned to face the blonde. "I haven't worked something out." He swivelled around fully and went back up the stairs to the part of the stands where his class was. After doing a quick scan of the class, he found Yami amongst them. "Ah, Yami! I thought you would do the long jump!"

Yami shook his head. "I'm in the class relay, the hundred metre sprints, the two hundred metre sprints and the high jump. All those events are later in the day so I'm basically in the stands all day. Why?"

"I hate to say it but I need your help with something!"

* * *

**If anyone knows about the background of the Ishtar twins other than the Ishtar twins, it's Otogi. It'll be fun developing on those three in future with their dynamic. I really want to get Otogi bringing out the truth about himself too, he's too busy shoving himself aside and getting the gossip and scandals on everyone else around him. XD Erm, anyway!**

**Next chapter: Bakura seeks Yami's help and is set out to prove to Malik that the friendship is genuine. Meanwhile, Malik is aiming to get into the huge sports day tournament. Can he get into the top three for any events - because Bakura sure is struggling with that. And what's this about Ryou and ghosts?**

**Until next time, adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


	8. Inspire

**Oh my goodness! Rohanfox told me I hadn't updated this since December! So here's an update with plenty of Thiefshipping and whatnot! I decided to edit round some things though. So the ghost stuff will be next chapter, sorry! I just felt it was better to leave this focused on the athletics day and leave the ghost scene which'll take place that night for the next chapter. In any case, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Also I really need to update this more, I'm excited for certain scenes in upcoming chapters. There'll be drunk!Malik in the future and it shall be lul.**

**Er anyway, enjoy!**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Chapter Eight: Inspire

**Bakura's POV**

"I hate to say it but I need your help with something!"

Yami blinked a couple of times and asked me why I'd hate to receive help from him. Then he did some stupid ramble about how we were roommates last year and so we should never feel uncomfortable about approaching one another. This is precisely why I tend not to approach Yami. He has good intentions but he can be a bit of a preacher at times. I don't know; he can just get on my nerves like that.

That's not the point however. There's something Yami is capable of and I'm not good with it. After Yami finished his ramble, I finally got to the point.

"How the fuck do you manage to put up with difficult people?!" Then the damn spiky-haired teen felt the need to ask me to define my idea of 'difficult people'. One word. Malik. I told him this and Yami raised an eyebrow. I sighed. "From what I gather, you can tolerate practically anybody. Heck, you can handle Seto Kaiba of all people! In more ways than one. Oh sorry, was that a secret?"

He frowned as his cheeks blushed pink. "Okay okay. I'll help you out if you pipe down about that. It's because there have already been tons of rumours regarding Kaiba and I since that outburst Malik did at assembly," he replied. I grinned. Excellent.

-

Yami and I went to an unoccupied section of the stands where the closest students to us were bratty little first years who tried to get us to move but unfortunately for them, they were challenging me of all people and it wasn't long before they backed off quickly. On the other hand, Yami just stood and watched until eventually commenting that I've been holding back. Wait, holding back?

I questioned what he meant by that and he sat down and began to explain. "Bakura, we've been roommates. I feel like I do know you. After all, you had a way of making the fight come to you so you didn't look the fool challenging somebody. You seem to capture prey unlike Mariku who intentionally hunts it down. Either way, you both know how to get what you want and yet I know you're capable of hunting yourself. That's what I mean by holding back." Way to go, Yami. Explain things in a way in which I still don't understand any of the shit you're saying. Geez.

"So anyway, difficult people. Namely Malik. How do I put up with them?" I asked with a groan.

"What did Malik do to you?"

"Try to rape me until I agreed to bake him cookies; does it make any difference what I say?!"

"Well, it would help if you told the truth. Malik would never rape anyone until the person agrees to bake him cookies," Yami pointed out. Ugh, he needs more of a sense of humour.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure Mariku would."

"...Weirdly enough, I can believe that," Yami admitted. We both smiled a little at this. He sighed. "From what I know, Malik thinks he's done a lot of wrong in life. Yet he doesn't try to sugar-coat things or aim to do all these things in order to make up for what he's done. He wants to be himself and face up to everything as himself with his own strength. Do you feel like you have to do all this stuff for him or something?"

"Uh... Mm..." I nodded. "For some reason Otogi and Mariku act like I should be waiting on him hand and foot and Otogi says Malik thinks I've been using him and I just... I don't know!" Yami sighed.

"I don't know about Malik but Otogi and Mariku definitely have growing up to do. Mariku and Otogi seem to think because Malik's quite an unstable character that he needs help but it's because they don't truly understand the situation. Ryou, Yugi and I have discussed Malik and here's what we think: Malik does not want to be babied but he does want someone to be there, even if they're not always going to console him. He just wants to be accepted for who he is as he is. Ryou mentioned something to do with forgiveness. So what do you actually think?"

Wha? Oh... Yami spoke for a bit and I got lost. Is he trying to say that when it comes to Malik, all I need to do is be there even if I don't do a thing while I'm there? What? But I can understand the feeling of not wanting to be babied. I'd feel like the person was looking down on me if they did that. Perhaps that's how Malik feels. Then again, I guess there's a lot I don't know about him.

He said it himself. If he wanted to tell me stuff, he'd tell me stuff. So I guess the best thing to do really is just be there. But I still don't understand why Otogi says Malik feels like he's being used. Used for what?

Perhaps Malik doesn't want to set me up with Mariku. It's weird though. We agreed to help each other out, didn't we? Ugh, I don't know. He's confusing. I can tell he says a lot of things he doesn't mean. It's possible that while he says he'll help me out with Mariku, he has no interest in doing so. Ugh, I'm sick of pondering my thoughts.

Yami and I flinch when a voice boomed through the stadium. It was Seto announcing the winners for the long jump in our grade. I don't hear Malik's name being mentioned. Ugh, he lost. He should be okay so long as he did better than Otogi. "Let's check on Malik," Yami suggested and before I could respond, he was already heading in the general direction leaving me with little choice but to follow.

-

"I don't fucking believe this!" Malik snapped in between shovelling the contents of chip packets into his mouth. I stared at the packet for a moment and pointed out that the chips had chicken flavouring. The next thing I knew, crumbs sprayed from his mouth and I received a chip packet to the face.

Just delightful. Ugh.

It turned out that Malik's final jump was brilliant but apparently he jumped too late or something and got disqualified. Is it just me or are Ishtar kids good at sports but also good at getting themselves disqualified?

Wait a second. He doesn't seem to be annoyed at me in particular. So what's going on here? I turned to Otogi with a bewildered look and he grinned.

"By any chance did my comments throw you into a panic?" Otogi asked. Huh? Well I don't know; you did imply that I'd done something horrifically wrong and Malik is overly pissed about it or something and feels used and other shit. Whether it was me panicking or not, I don't care. I mean, shut up, no. Bakura Touzoku _never_ panics. True facts. Otogi saw my expression and burst out laughing. "Ahaha!! I hope you've learned something here." Malik opened a can of soda in front of Otogi and we watched as the soda liquid came spurting out into his face. "Gyaah!! What was that for?!"

"For invading my complaints session," he responded after everyone surrounding us had finished laughing at the dark-haired model. He pointed a finger at me. "First off, why did you never mention Ryou-kun's crush? If I knew, then I wouldn't have done anything and would have got on with my life ages ago!"

Jounouchi and Honda glanced at each other and shrugged, then turned to see my response. Yami did the same, minus the shrugging.

I sighed. "Crush? What, do you seriously think I'd have known?" I groaned loudly. "For fuck's sake, I may be his brother – his twin even but I... I don't know everything about him."

Malik scowled. "You should know something like that. I know for certain that twins share a connection that normal siblings do not!" he replied irritably. "Mariku and I, even though we don't really like each other, we still know everything about one another!" ...I have no excuse. Nor do I feel the need to find one. He shouldn't assume that because Ryou and I are twins that we ought to understand one another. Malik and Mariku are more alike than Ryou and I. So naturally they'd know a lot about each other compared to me and Ryou. "Whatever!" he snapped, seeing that I didn't have an answer. "I'm going! Seeing as I have to prepare for more events. Fuck that long jump. What's so great about attempting to the far end of a cruddy sandpit anyway?"

With a forced grin, I answered that with, "You wouldn't be thinking that if you won."

Here comes the punch. He smirked and told me to go get fucked. Harsh words, but I think I know what he meant. Malik left us with nothing more to say.

Honda jumped to pat me on the back sympathetically. "Trying to think of the words... Ah, thanks for interfering with Malik's complaints regarding the long jump. We all admittedly stopped caring five minutes after he got disqualified," he told me with a nervous smile.

Otogi shuffled over so that he was beside Honda and nodded in agreement. "It was good that Malik-san didn't destroy anything, right?"

Jounouchi laughed. "He still says and does strange things! In a way, he's very girl-like, don'tcha think? With those bitchfits and mood swings and everything!"

If Malik knew that almost everyone thinks of him as being quite the girl, he'd probably destroy the world. Yet it's true. He isn't as destructive as he used to be. It's a bloody good thing because I'm sick of him trying to have his way over me just because I can't be bothered fighting with a guy like him. So that bitchy male better win his races.

Eh? What the fuck is... I blinked and realise Otogi was putting his arm around me. "Get off," I said in a grumpy tone but he didn't listen. Should've figured with that half-assed attempt.

"Did you know why I said those things back there?" he asked, knowing I would want to know the answer. I rolled my eyes. Fuck, he's irritating. "I knew exactly how you'd react. There's a lot of things you don't know but the things you say and do, while you're unaware of them, it all speaks for itself." Wait, so this bastard tricked me into thinking was wrong when there wasn't really?! So I got worked up over nothing?! That makes me... Otogi cracked up. "Bakura, you're so so so dumb! Say, Mariku and Ryou-kun feel used too, whatcha gonna do about that?"

Okay, now I really know he's lying. Fucking hell. Yami, who I almost forgot was there too, did a small sigh. Honda and Jounouchi seemed like they wanted out of the conversation and made a dash for it, their excuse being that they were going to get drinks for all of us.

"Do those skills of manipulation come in handy in the modelling industry?" Yami asked with a raised eyebrow.

Otogi winked at him. "Sometimes it's the way to get booked for jobs."

-

Hours passed and it was getting to the last event of the day. The class relays between the three year groups. Of course, I'm in the second year group but like fuck I'm racing. But before I continue about that – I've been keeping track of results during the day.

Malik's done exceptionally well, like fuck he's through to the regional tournament. It amazed me though how talented he actually was at athletics. But it was something he never really made a point of showing. If he trained properly often, he could end up being one of the top athletes of his age group in the country. Or at least I think so. He's going to be in the regional tournament for 100m, 200m and 400m sprint races. Seeing him run those races and place first in each excited me somehow. It was good to see someone I liked kicking the asses of fellow competitors I didn't give a shit for. But not just good. Bloody brilliant.

Mariku and Otogi have each done pretty well for themselves too. But not on the same scale as Malik, hell no. Otogi got to the finals for 400m and Marik for 100 and 200m. But you have to place in the top three to get to the regional tournament. Mariku kept placing 4th while Otogi placed 5th.

It's a shame really. Seems like Malik will be surrounded by mostly people he doesn't get on with at the tournament. Actually I think it's better that way. Malik can focus on winning, which is what I like to see.

But yes, now's the class relay! The first years had just completed theirs and some kid relative of Seto Kaiba's won. His name was Noa or something and he won the race for his class. Normally I wouldn't know this information but Ryou decided to abandon his class to sit with me in the stands so that we could cheer on our fellow roommates together. Honda stood up and began to cheer as our classes each sent out their runners for the relay team. I think we got a good line up. The first runner is Otogi, second is Jounouchi, third is Yami and the fourth and final runner is Malik.

"Go Class 2KD!!" Honda yelled out, which signalled all the students to begin cheering also.

I grinned to myself. With Malik on our side, we're bound to win.

"The competition is pretty interesting," Ryou noted. "Look Bakura! The final runners include Kaiba-kun, Mariku-kun and Malik-kun! Everyone knows now that Malik-kun is quite a force to be reckoned with in running but if his teammates aren't quick enough, he may not have the speed to make up for it."

What, Mariku's racing? Huh... I know he'll do well. But I dunno. My classmate and roommate is racing against the guy I like, which feels weird to me. Who to cheer for? I mean, Malik's a good runner and doesn't need my support but it's not like Mariku would be able to hear me while running. So who do I cheer for?

"Bakura! Come on!" Honda interrupted my thought process as he took me and Ryou to the finish line, reminding my brother to take photos of students crossing the finish line. We managed to get there a little before the first runners got onto the starting blocks. Ah, Otogi looks pretty determined. He noticed our approach and smiled – it looked weirdly genuine and it felt like he wasn't looking at Ryou but either Honda or I – I honestly couldn't tell as Honda was standing with me while Ryou was trying to find a good angle to take photos from. "Give us a good start, Otogi!"

Pah, of course he will. Even so, I think for the first time I'll try and really cheer on somebody. So who? Malik or Mariku? You know what? It should be fucking obvious! I don't need to cheer on Malik in order for him to win, you know.

"On your marks!" the man with the starting gun called. All first runners were in position. "Set!" They tensed up in anticipation.

Then came the bang of the gun.

Otogi was in the fourth lane and quickly got to the lead to begin with but I saw a runner from Seto's class start to get faster. Honda's yelling and cheering was the most clear sound to me amongst the uproar of the school. But for once, I didn't mind it. Being in this atmosphere. Normally I slunk into the shadows with my stupid books being antisocial but now I was part of the crowd feeling the mood around me. Excitement, anticipation, I felt it pumping through my veins like nothing before.

I urged Otogi to run faster silently but also out loud. But that runner passed him just as they reached the second runner. Otogi handed the baton to Jounouchi, no problem. The second runners made a straight beeline to the third runner.

Shit, class 2KD is coming second so far. Seto's class is up ahead while Mariku's class is getting close behind ours. Jounouchi's keeping his place though. Fuck, it's way too close for my liking. Ah the third runners now. Jounouchi passed the baton to Yami. Yes, he's bringing us back into the lead! Yes, yes, yes – NO! Fuck, Mariku and Seto's teams' third runners are overtaking him! Shit, Yami's not keeping up enough! Come on, come on!

Fuck, the fourth runners. Mariku, you know what? I want to cheer for you, I really do. Because I like you I'd cheer for you, I'd really cheer for you.

Seto and Mariku each took hold of their respective batons.

However, Mariku...

Yami passed his baton to Class 2KD's final runner: Malik Ishtar.

...You should know that I don't need to cheer for Malik in order for him to win...

My voice rose above all others. "GO MALIK! WIN THE GODDAMN RACE!!"

...It just so happens I want to cheer for him more than I want to cheer for you.

Malik shot off and was quick to catch up to Mariku with Seto just a little bit ahead. It got close to halfway – shit! Mariku tried to push ahead when he tripped over instead. Fuck, that's gotta suck. I heard the whole crowd react to him tripping over. But now's not the time to care! In this moment where one mad student's voice can be heard above all else, I have to continue to cheer!

"GO MALIK, GO! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!!"

In that exact moment, I felt like he could hear me. He didn't look back to see if Mariku was alright. No, he's a smarter athlete than that. He's reaching the finish line. Now him and Seto are equal. Come on, Malik, come on! You have to beat Seto Kaiba of all people! The guy who you tried to stand up to in assembly and not just that – he's the guy whole stole Ryou's heart once. So Malik, you have to beat him!

...Oh my fucking god. If my eyes served me right, in the final ten metres Malik got himself ahead of Seto. The crowd around me went wild. Honda held up a hand and lost in the moment, I high-fived him. Did Malik just...? Yes.

He freaking won!

Malik won the class relay for 2KD.

That fucking epic guy!

I found myself leaping over the fence to go out onto the track once all the other racers crossed the line. Before anyone else, I had to get there before anything else. Malik was puffing and the moment he turned around the right way, he was met by me throwing my arms around him tight.

Malik won the fucking race!

Screw Otogi slipping into second. Screw Jounouchi not getting us a place ahead. Screw Yami for getting overtaken by two teams. Screw Mariku for tripping up midrace. Screw Seto for thinking he could try take first place away from us.

"Ba...Bakura, it's hard to... to breathe!" Malik cried out weakly. Instead, more members of our class latched on and made it a group hug with the entire class with Malik and I at the centre.

It's strange to think that last year I would've stayed away from all this. Not interacted with anybody – fuck it, I hated sporting events. They're just not my thing. It's not that I couldn't socialise or do sport or cheer or anything. I just didn't choose to. Yet Malik, he made me participate in events and inspire me to join in this unfamiliar atmosphere. But he was new to it all too and won all these events and now he's definitely made a name for himself. Perhaps students will recognise his talent more than his temper. If that's possible. Still, I underestimated Malik. I'll accept him as a friend and a valued one. Someone who needn't be compared to Mariku who simply got disqualified, mucked around and then tripped at the crucial moments. Not to make Mariku sound bad but... I shouldn't compare the Ishtar twins anymore.

Otogi's intentions make a lot more sense to me now. He made me freak out over nothing but realise something. What's he seeing that I don't see?

He's near the centre of the group hug too. Like Malik, I felt he looked truly happy. This group hug is freaking tight, it's almost uncomfortable. I couldn't even get a chance to really be part of the hug. Yes, I was at the centre but I'm only hugging Malik and his arms weren't free to hug anyone. He looked happy but I could tell from his eyes that he was a little irritated too. I think the students around us could sense it but they didn't fear it either.

"Right, can a guy get some breathing space?!" Malik snapped eventually, making himself heard amongst the cheering and all else. Jounouchi ruffled the blonde Egyptian's hair and joined Otogi and Honda.

Ryou skipped over to us, seeing that the group hug was dispersing. "Malik-kun, that was amazing!" he complimented him. Malik's face lit up as he thanked him.

"Yeah Malik, you're actually a pretty cool guy!" a student from another class commented.

"...'Actually'?" Malik asked with a raised eyebrow. The student looked worried but Malik chuckled at him. "Hey, you came second in that hundred metre race, didn't you? What place did your class come just then?"

"Third! Mariku tripping certainly gave us an advantage!"

Speak of the devil; Mariku's approaching us with a less than pleasant air about him. Malik ignored him however and went off with the student along with some others seemingly content with chatting to them. I patted Mariku on the back sympathetically and Ryou followed suit. He swatted us away, telling us that he didn't need comforting. Yeah, say it without that pissy expression of yours, eh?

"I fucking tripped over fucking nothing in front of the fucking school!" Mariku swore out loud, making some nearby teachers raise an eyebrow. "Did you fucking see that? Oh wait a fucking moment – everyone fucking saw that!"

"What place did your class come?" I asked out of curiosity.

Ryou held up his hand. "Fifth place," he told me. Mariku snorted.

"Yeah, what Ryou said. Fucking hell I'm going to get mocked for tripping up midrace!" he complained. I rested an elbow on his shoulder.

"At least Malik did well today!" I pointed out. Mariku's face softened.

"...Mm. Yeah, I'll go congratulate him or something," he muttered and then he ran over to his brother and joined the group of students surrounding him.

Huh, mentioning Malik's victory seemed to cheer Mariku up. I guess he isn't so harsh that he'd complain over his mistakes and ignore Malik's achievements. But I get the feeling Malik doesn't win over Mariku often. And I think that is something that very much separates the two and defines where they stand with each other. Mariku is a naturally dominating person but Malik is someone who wants to be recognised for himself and not as 'Mariku's bad tempered brother'.

Looking over at Mariku and Malik, Ryou and I groaned. Mariku did congratulate Malik for a second only to then rant about tripping up midrace. For goodness sake, nobody would dare pick on Mariku regardless of his almost comical trip-up. When someone pisses off Mariku, the next thing that happens is red rain. Work it out.

Ryou tapped my shoulder. "Hey Bakura! I want to bake a cake for Malik-kun to congratulate him on his efforts. He did train hard and everything so I think those efforts should be rewarded!" Baking... I suppose Malik would like anything Ryou made. Ryou is a pretty good cook and all.

_"For fuck's sake, I may be his brother – his twin even but I... I don't know everything about him."_

_"You should know something like that. I know for certain that twins share a connection that normal siblings do not!"_

Ugh, I think I understand a little bit more. Right, I'll take initiative. "Hey Ryou, I'll help you. Teach me how to bake. I mean, Malik's probably going to do well in future so uh..." I felt my face going pink. Oh fuck, I can't believe I'm saying this. "...I could uh... bake more for him seeing as I'm his roommate. Plus one day I'll have to cook for myself so I may as well get in the practise now!" Excuses, excuses, reasonable excuses at that too!

My brother blinked at me a couple of times in surprise. "...Bakura? That's... something I wouldn't expect you to say. But of course you can help!" He raised an eyebrow. "I heard you cheering nice and loudly for Malik. You were right into it, weren't you? If I were to draw conclusions, I'd say you like Malik!" What?! No, that's not it!! "You're going red, Kura~ but it's okay! You don't have to say it, I understand."

And with that, he too went to join the others as they got off the track for the third years' relay. But what the hell was Ryou on about just then? He's just making up crap, right? I didn't just act like I favoured Malik, did I?

_"I know for certain that twins share a connection that normal siblings do not!"_

No, Ryou and I don't share that much of a connection! He just doesn't realise the truth, I'll forgive him. The truth is the truth, right?

So according to the truth, I like Mariku. That's how it is. I just want to be nicer to Malik because he's my friend. That's all. That's really all it is.

There isn't anything weird between Malik and I.

Not at all!

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**Next chapter: Ghosts! What the hell do they have to do with anything? Also Bakura tackles cooking with Ryou! Malik and Bakura then find themselves faced with what they think is a prediction of the future: a future with each other! What is this I don't even? Not on Bakura and Malik's watches it ain't happening!**

**And with that in mind, until next time!**

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


	9. Cake and Ghosts

**Um alrighty, I'm hoping the new scene change thing works because hates my -s all of a sudden and Mel is very disappoint. Anyway, I'm hoping to update this then finish BB by July. So I'm going to update this and then focus my attention to BB. So I hope you enjoy this chapter which I somehow cranked out in the night. Bakura-centric chapter, here we come!**

Chapter Nine: Cake and Ghosts

**Bakura's POV**

We returned to school with a feeling of success. Tonight there will be three class parties for the winning classes from each year, my class being one of them. The student council helps host them and we get to kick back and celebrate the fact our class kicks more ass than other classes. Ryou was going to help out with food and was going to bake that afternoon so he invited me to join him.

He piled all the required ingredients onto the school kitchen bench and handed me a recipe book. "I'll be quite busy with things but if you have a problem, just call on me okay?" he explained and before I could point out that I failed at this sort of thing, he was around mixing around ingredients for some weirdo pudding he was making. I stared at him blankly until he picked up on the signals that I couldn't do a thing. He glanced up at me and burst out laughing. "Ah, for goodness sake Kura! Here's a bowl, start reading the recipe and do what it says. Oh and here's some more things you might find useful!" And with that, he handed me a bowl, mixing spoon and measuring jug.

I sighed and read through the recipe. "Angel-Food Cake?" I raised an eyebrow at the name of the recipe.

"Yup! Malik-kun likes that kind – I know these things! It's a fluffy, light cake and this recipe is an easy enough one to do," Ryou explained some more as he pre-heated the oven at the right temperature for me.

With a sigh, I poured in egg whites, cream of tartar and salt and began to mix with the spoon. As I continued adding more ingredients, Ryou and I began to talk. I felt weirdly comfortable doing this girly baking stuff. Perhaps because it was just Ryou and I in the kitchen so nobody was staring at me like 'What the fuck is a guy like Bakura making angel cake shit?'

"By the way Ryou, there was something I wanted to clarify," I remembered.

_"I heard you cheering nice and loudly for Malik. You were right into it, weren't you? If I were to draw conclusions, I'd say you like Malik!"_

Ryou made that bizarre and embarrassing conclusion back at the athletics thing. I mean, sure Malik's my friend and I'll support him but that doesn't mean I like him! It's more the opposite or something. If I wasn't rooming with him, I'd never hang out with him or even consider such a thing! Then again, I prefer it this way, with Malik and I as roommates. For some reason anything different would feel unnatural.

"What is it?" Ryou's eyes widened in curiosity.

"I really don't have a crush on Malik!" I told him nervously. Ryou paused.

"Oh. Okay," he replied with... what I swear was a disappointed tone.

Maybe I need to be a bit more forceful. "We're just friends, Ryou!"

He giggled at me, making me blush madly. Damn brother, clearly not giving a shit for what I'm saying! "Lemme know when you change your mind," he said with an amused tone as he placed his whatever he was making in the oven. "Here, you're not whipping the mixture enough." He took the bowl off me and finished whipping the mixture within with much more expertise than me.

But for goodness sake! I need to be even clearer with this. "Ryou, I have feelings for someone else," I grumbled. He poured my cake mixture into a good rounded cake-pan and placed it alongside his pudding in the oven and shut the oven door. Then he set the timer and began cleaning up the kitchen. He frowned at me and told me to help with cleaning up. I sighed. "I'm serious, Ryou. Malik's not the guy I'm after. Even he knows that!"

"Then who?" Ryou asked almost as if he was obligated to ask with the way I was carrying on.

I drew in a breath and checked my surroundings. Then I scooted over to Ryou and whispered, "...Mariku Ishtar." He leaped back and probably set a world record for the loudest gasp out of shock. I glared. "Ryou!"

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologised quickly; his cheeks flushing pink. "B-But Mariku-kun?! Why? Of all people! Um um, I think a better match for you would be... Malik-kun!"

"But he's not the one I like!"

Ryou shook his head insistently. "No! Bad Kura! Mariku-kun isn't good boyfriend material at all! He'd be unfaithful."

"You think I hadn't already considered that?" I scoffed, folding my arms irritably. No, Ryou and I are definitely not on the same thinking level! He doesn't understand at all. Stupid brother. Ryou sighed.

"Okay, I'm just surprised, that's all," he huffed, turning his back on me. Ugh, he does that everytime I win an argument. What is it with him being fixated on the idea of Malik and I? It's not like that between us. Why do people think that? Ryou swivelled around to face me. "Oh, oh! Kura, um... good luck with Mariku-kun. Sorry I misunderstood." His words felt forced but I extended an arm to pat his head regardless. "Eheheh..."

"Seriously, Mariku-kun's more my type. You know I like 'em wild," I said with a wink.

He giggled again. "Lemme know when you change your mind!" he repeated. Argh, now I know he's picking on me!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Malik's eyes widened like saucers as I placed the cake I baked onto the refreshment table alongside a cake knife and paper napkins. He recognised the recipe and asked if Ryou made it. For the first time, I shook my head proudly and told him that I made it in celebration of his victory for our class. Malik grinned and helped himself to a huge serving of cake. He tasted it and asked if I baked often.

I shook my head and his jaw dropped. "No freaking way! This stuff's genius!" he yanked Otogi over and forced a slice of cake on him. "Otogi-baka, try this! Bakura's secretly a culinary genius!" And with that, he began to munch away at his own slice. I grinned and took in the compliments rather shyly. Man, I kinda wish Mariku was here. And like hell I'd say that Ryou did more work than I did!

Yami, Jounouchi and Honda alongside some other classmates each helped themselves to a slice of cake each. With a small smile, Yami said, "My compliments to the chef."

Shit, is the cake actually that good? It's not any special flavour or anything... I helped myself to a slice and nibbled it nervously, hoping like mad that the others actually meant their praises and weren't just saying it was good for the sake of being kind about my lack of cooking ability.

Jounouchi let out a yell of surprise. "Eh?! Bakura made the cake?! No way, are we talking about the same Bakura?!"

Otogi put an arm around me. "Kura, Kura, Kura-kun! You're going to become a fine housewife!" Oh, you try saying that again, bitch. "Eek, Bakura-kun's giving me the death glare!"

I glanced over at Malik, who was wrapping a slice of cake fully in napkin paper. He handed the wrapped cake slice to me with a smile. "Save it for Mariku. He'll be hella impressed – if there's anything he loves, it's food." Ah, he's a smart cookie. I was about to place the cake in my pocket when someone snatched it out of my hands. What?! I looked up and saw Otogi rush out the door with the slice. "Otogi-baka!" Malik yelled and chased after him.

Out of instinct I decided to chase after them too and we wound up at Otogi's dormitory room. Mariku burst out laughing and I glared daggers as Otogi handed him the slice of cake that I made. Taking credit for my work!

Malik suddenly grinned. "Sheesh, you guys have a feast going on here!" I looked on the floor and saw that Ryou was setting up that pudding he made earlier along with cups of lemonade and assortments of other food. Malik forced me to join their circle and I couldn't help but think that we just ditched a class party because Otogi made off with some of my cake.

Mariku unwrapped the napkin paper and crammed the cake slice into his mouth. He swallowed the piece and licked his lips in satisfaction. "Now that's some mean cake!"

Ryou smiled. "Bakura made it, Mariku-kun."

The crazy-haired Egyptian pulled the same expression Malik pulled earlier in reaction to learning that why yes, I can bake a cake after all. "No freaking way! This stuff's genius!" It took me a moment to realise those were Malik's words from before as well. "Bakura's secretly a culinary genius!" Shit, I'm starting to see Malik and Mariku's twin qualities methinks.

"Hey, let's stay here for this feast!" Malik suggested excitedly. I sighed and shook my head.

"You ought to be at the class party. After all, you're the one who won it for our class," I pointed out. He frowned. "Come on, it's your night so go and I dunno, spam how brilliant you are?"

Malik nodded with a sigh. "Alright, fine," he groaned. Ryou suddenly reached for Mariku's hair gel and spiked his hair up like mine. "Ryou-kun?"

"Can I go to the party in Kura's stead? Hey Otogi-kun, let's go!" The next thing I knew during the procession of one thing, another thing and so on confusing the shit out of me, Malik, Ryou and Otogi had ditched leaving Mariku and I all alone. I tensed up. If they're staying at the party, does that mean Mariku and I are going to get some... alone time for a while?

Mariku finished a cup of lemonade in one gulp and happily helped himself to another. "Wonder why that Ryou-kid was so eager to go in your place, eh?" he spoke amidst the silence. I scratched my head and told him I hadn't a clue. "I mean, Seto's not there... Then again, he doesn't wanna ride the Kaiba Train anymore," he muttered as he served himself some pudding of the chocolate variety.

I shrugged. "Ryou did make a lot of food at that party. I guess he just wants to see what people think of the things he made?" I guessed. Honestly I don't have a clue.

"...Ah. That could be it."

Another silence.

Oh fuck, what am I supposed to talk about with this guy? He could start a conversation anytime he wants but I suppose he's waiting on me. That look he's giving me. He's testing me, I'm sure. But I believe this is a chance. So I better find out useful information.

"Doyouhaveaboyfriend?!" I blurted out in a rush.

...Fucking hell, I'm an idiot.

Mariku tilted his head to the side; his expression too blank for my liking. Then he grinned and leaned forward. "Boyfriend? That's just assuming I'm gay! Ahaha, Bakura! Malik's definitely gay but me, I'll bang anything! Wahaha!" He continued to laugh while I couldn't quite work out if what I asked was bad or not. Eventually he finished his usual manic laughter and sighed. "When I was younger, I probably freaked Malik out with ghost stories. But when I learned Ryou was into the occult and acts like it scares him to make him an open target for people to force occult things onto him, I was amazed and so I started telling him made up ghost shit and his eyes would widen with fascination... It's kinda cute really."

I raised an eyebrow. "...Um, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Because when it comes to ghosts and love, I think the same thing!" he explained. "Ryou believes in ghosts but they come and go for him, just like with that crush of his on Seto Kaiba. And I posed a question to Malik once: 'what would you do if a ghost came and fucked you up?' I also asked 'what would you do if love came and fucked you up?' because you know, I'll ask pretty much anything so long as some curse word is thrown in for the sake of it... And you know what?"

I raised the other eyebrow. "What?"

"Malik said the same thing in response to both questions! He said 'if I come across such a thing, then that's that.' So I thought to myself, perhaps both are supernatural concepts!" he told me, pointing a finger at my face. I smirked.

"Love may not happen for everyone but I wouldn't say it's anything supernatural-related," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. He reached over and tapped my nose with his finger and leaned back. I shivered at his sudden touch. Oh god, don't let it show, don't let it show...

"But dear Bakura, that's the thing! I don't believe in ghosts because I've never seen proof of their existence. Similarly, I don't get how Seto or Yami could possibly be together or how marriages last. It doesn't make sense to me –"

I cut him off. "Because you don't believe in love nor had seen proof?"

Mariku blinked at me a couple of times. He took a moment to consider this and then he nodded rather quietly. Then he let out a laugh. "But I think if ghosts existed, I'd totally chat to it and shit! Would be really fucking insane and all!" He went silent. "Hey Bakura, do you have to be special or have some kind of power to see ghosts?" he suddenly asked almost seriously.

Somehow I feel like Mariku's wanting to talk more insightfully. But everytime he says something that's interesting, that I can think about, he goes and laughs it off. He's weirdly inconsistent. That in itself is fascinating to me. I want to know more about the other sides of Mariku. There is a smart guy in there but he often seems to cover it up for whatever reason. This weird thing of inconsistency is somehow... attractive to me. Yet it's always been a common trait of Malik's too.

"You know what, Mariku? I think there's a ghost out there who wants to be seen by you," I told him before realising what I just said.

Did I just tell him that there's someone who likes him? Shit, shit. Damn confusing metaphors with reality, fuck shit, fuck shit, shittily fuck – swear jars from across the globe will be utterly furious with me.

The Egyptian teenager sitting across from me fell silent at my words. He averted his eyes to the ground quickly. Is he... going red? Oh god, I made him blush?! Is this good or bad or what the fuck shit what?!

He cracked up at last. "Bakura, you say weird shit! Right, right." Mariku clambered to his feet as he tried to contain his own laughter. I swear he has a laughing disease, that guy. It seems like anything can trigger laughter out of Mariku. "Let's go crash that party! I'm going to go and violate Otogi's personal space with my di-"

"I don't wanna know," I interrupted him with a sigh. He grinned and forced me to go with him to our class' party.

I think I took another step with Mariku. Maybe I just made him more aware of me as... you know. But I know something's for sure.

I have to show Mariku who that ghost is.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I was down on my knees, begging like a dog at the feet of a tall giant. There was nothing but pitch black darkness surrounding me, except for the dog kennel behind me. Did I just take the place of Jounouchi or something?! What the hell is this? Looking up, I saw that the enormous giant person was none other than Malik Ishtar. "Please Malik, marry me!" I pleaded, bowing down at his feet again.

He rolled his eyes as if my request was irritating as hell. "Ugh, seeing as you're literally on your knees and begging... Fine!" he decided just like that. "I'll marry you. Let's get into that kennel."

Malik then shrunk down to my size and I soon noticed that I had a dog tail and ears. What the fuck is going on here? I felt the scene suddenly change within the kennel and Otogi came into the kennel with two chibi-sized people in his arms. I blinked. Why are Mariku and Ryou chibis?

"Look Kura! Malik's had two beautiful children!" he exclaimed. Wait, what!? But Mariku and Malik are twins! Fucking hell, I'm so confused – why did I beg for Malik to marry me anyway?!

I turned to Malik with a quizzical expression. He shrugged. "What's with that look? You're the father."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What!?" I yelled as I sat up awake. Quickly I realised that Malik had yelled out the same thing in unison as we both woke up to the next day. The day after the athletics day and the party. Why would he wake up the same way as me? "Malik, I just had a dream where –"

Malik scowled at me with clenched fists. "You begged me to marry you and we had sex in a kennel and I gave birth to Mariku and Ryou-kun and you're the father and-"

Hold up, what?!

"You had that dream too?!"

"Too?!" He got out of bed and paced around the room. "Hang on, we just woke up from one hell of a fucked dream and it was the same fucking dream and... Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" he clutched at his head and panicked. "This must be a prediction of the future!" What?! Where the fuck do you get off jumping to conclusions like that? "I mean, you won't be some dog thing and we won't give birth to your brother or my brother but but but it's a sign of the apocalypse! I have no choice but to do what I can to stop this fate!"

Those drama lessons are really doing something for him.

"...Malik, I think you're overreacting..."

He shook his head. "Fuck you – no wait, that's how I got male pregnancy – oh god – just get together with you-know-who already!!"

...I have a feeling things are going to get weird.

Or more, weirder if that's even possible.

**I remember the dream sequence in Toradora and it cracked me up so I just had to shove it in. But um, I ain't got much more to say. Sooooo...**

**Next chapter: Time for class president nominations! The nominees are Yami, Otogi and... Bakura?! Uh-oh, Mariku's getting into a dispute. Otogi contains along with his mysterious ways... What the hell is Malik doing now?**

**Adios!**

**Mel-Girl.**


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